Voices
by EHShedgehogs
Summary: Shadow has a choice to make and it will ultimately affect his life for the rest of time. Will he choose his friends and growing love towards Amy Rose over the power he desires?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**_ Shadow the Hedgehog and all related characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, shows, movies and etc. belong to Sega, the Sonic Team and all other affiliates.

_**Note to all readers:**_ The horizontal line in-between paragraphs indicate a period of time that has passed. Just so you know, so you don't get confused. :)

* * *

**Chapter 1**

As Shadow lay in his bed he couldn't help but stare at the ceiling. It was almost 3 o'clock in the morning and he was restless, unable to sleep while he tossed and turned in-between the sheets. The night was quiet with the exception of cricket chirps and an occasional car that drove by his home. Aggravated with his lack of rest he sat up and turned on his night table lamp. He glanced at the clock and scoffed.

"There is no way I am going to be able to meet up with Sonic if I don't get some damn sleep!" he whispered to himself. "I don't even know what he wants with me anyways." With long, dragging steps he walked downstairs into his kitchen. After flipping the light switch on he grabbed a small glass and filled it with milk from his fridge and then took a gulp. He sat down on a barstool at his counter and leaned his head on his hand. He traced the circular pattern of the granite with his finger and took another drink of his beverage.

His head rose with drooping eyelids and as soon as he finished his milk he set the glass in the sink and turned the kitchen light back off. As he walked through the living room he noticed the streaks of moonlight on the hard wood floor. He stopped a moment and stared at the brilliant white light. Suddenly a darkened image passed across the light. Shadow became alert and eyed the window on the far wall. He stooped over to the window and lifted it open. Curiously he leaned out and his ear twitched when he heard a bush shake. He leaned out further and saw nothing.

"Hmph." he grunted. The hedgehog came back into the house and closed the window. He pulled the cord to shut the blinds and started walking away. Then he paused and looked behind him over his shoulder to the window again. Shaking his head he continued up the stairs and went back into his room. His clock now read 3:36.

"Damnit." he retorted. The lamp turned off with a click and Shadow laid back down under the black sheet. He turned on his side and laid his head on his thick feather pillow. He closed his eyes and after a little while fell into a light sleep.

_"Oh Shadow.. Shadow.. Can you hear me, Shadow? Don't tell me you fell asleep, Shadow.."_

* * *

Shadow's eyes opened to see the sun out. Morning. He slowly sat up and looked around. Turning to his clock he read 9:57. He had to meet up with Sonic in just over a half an hour at the park down in Juliani, a small town near Shadow's reserved mansion.

He left his room and entered his bathroom. He ran cold tap water, cupped it in his hands and splashed it over his face. He kept his hands over his eyes and slowly slid them down. He grabbed a towel on the rack, wiped his face and stared into the mirror. He blinked a few times and then brushed his teeth. He then walked to his wardrobe closet, put on his shoes and gloves and slid over to his bedroom window. He peeked through the side of the blinds and squinted because of the bright sunlight.

Outside Shadow could see a slight breeze rustle the trees' bushy tops. A few birds flew by in pairs and the road in front of the house was empty.

Hesitatingly, Shadow gathered himself and walked downstairs into his garage. He clicked the button and the garage door began to open. Slowly the sun's light lit up the space and revealed the shiny, metallic motorcycle that graced it. Shadow hopped onto the motorbike, turned the key and it roared to life. A few pumps of the gas and Shadow was out and on the road heading for Juliani.

As the black hedgehog raced through the ongoing forest he couldn't help but ponder to himself.

"Did I hear a voice last night? What was that thing outside?" he said to himself. "Ugh, whatever. Shadow, you just keep to your duties. There's no time to waste thinking about the past." He shook his head to bring himself back and noticed a shape quickly approaching him. He squinted to make out what it was and finally noticed that it was small and pink.

"Amy!?" Shadow yelled as he screeched to a halt, leaving a skid mark on the road. He came to a complete stop not even a foot away from her and was almost thrown off the bike.

"Shadow! Oh how great it is to see you! I knew it was you on that motorcycle! You're the only one around here that rides one of those anyways!" Amy seemed to not even realize that she almost got herself ran over and Shadow thrown into the ground. She jumped up and down gleefully, giggling. "It's so good to see you!"

Shadow just stared at her with an intense look. "You're definitely an unpredictable one." he started. "Did you not notice I was going fast enough to flatten you?"

"Oh, well sorry Mr. Serious Pants!" Amy squeaked. "I figured you would be happy to see me, Shadow. You left so suddenly without even saying goodbye to anyone." She frowned.

"I had my reasons, Amy, and I'd rather not talk about them right now." Shadow scoffed. "What are you doing out here anyways? You don't live near here."

"Well, uhm, it's a funny story-"

"Let me guess." interrupted Shadow. "You were chasing Sonic again and happened to get lost in the process. You couldn't keep up..again." Amy put her arms behind her and looked at the ground. She tapped her toe to the ground and rolled her ankle.

"Maybe I'm not as unpredictable as you say I am." she pouted. Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Well we all know you're in love with him. I don't know what you see in the guy anyways." Amy looked at Shadow as he turned away from her.

"I..I..I don't know.." Amy stuttered. "Give me a break, Shadow! I'm just a girl. Sometimes I just feel so..lonely. You should be the expert about that feeling." Shadow looked at Amy. He was surprised that she said such a thing but knew that what she said was true.

_"Hmph, great, now I feel bad. Wait, what am I saying? I'm not lonely. She's just a girl. Whatever."_ They stood in silence for a few moments until Amy finally spoke up.

"Well since you aren't going to say anything nice to me today could you at least do me the favor of taking me to Juliani? I'm sure it's on your way to wherever you're going. There I can call Cream and she can come pick me up or something."

Reluctantly, Shadow decided to help her. He motioned her to get on his vehicle and surprised by his compliance she excitedly hopped onto the back.

"So you are happy to see me!" Amy said happily.

"And what makes you think so?" asked Shadow in a low voice.

"Because you would have said no if you thought I wasn't that important." answered Amy. Shadow drew a blank face and brought himself back to the situation at hand. "Where are you going anyways?" she continued.

"I just happen to be on course for Juliani. I'm meeting your boyfriend."

"Oh." Amy whispered as she grabbed onto Shadow. He started the motorcycle again and sped off towards the town.

* * *

Shadow and Amy arrived in Juliani in no more that 15 minutes. Once Shadow reached the park he parked next to the sidewalk and waited for Amy to get off. She still held onto him and Shadow turned around to look at her. She had a smile on her face as she leaned against Shadow's back.

"Ahem." Shadow coughed. Amy opened her eyes and quickly let go and got off of the motorcycle.

"Oh, sorry about that." she said. "I lost track for a second there." Shadow smiled slightly and then began walking away. Amy yelled after him.

"Well aren't you going to say bye to me?" Shadow stopped.

"Well aren't you going to say thank you?" He retorted.

"I was just about to get there. But you aren't being nice either." Shadow turned around and stood with his feet apart and his hands in fists. Amy looked him in the eyes. His look was intimidating but she kept her composure. "Thank you, Shadow. It was better than having to walk all that way."

"You're welcome, Amy Rose." Shadow said. He just stood there.

"So, maybe, I'll see you later?" Amy said. "I do kinda miss you being around. You're quiet but you're still my friend."

Shadow shrugged. "Yeah..later." He looked at the ground. He then faced opposite of Amy and walked away towards his meeting place.

Amy sadly walked over to a nearby phone booth next to Shadow's motorcycle. She opened the door, stepped in and put in 25 cents into the slot. She dialed the number to Cream's home phone and was greeted with a high, squeaky voice.

"Amy! What are you doing all the way over there?" Cream asked.

"I was trying to find Sonic." answered Amy. "Then I got lost and Shadow brought me here on his way to wherever he was going. But I need you to come and get me."

"Of course! Anything for you Amy Rose! But how do I get there?"

"I could probably ask somebody for directions." Amy said. "Then I could call you back. Is that alright?"

"Yep! Sounds like a plan." Cream concluded. "But wait.. Shadow? You saw Shadow? He has been gone an awful long time! Is he with you? Can't you ask him?"

"He went to go meet Sonic in the park before I could really say anything." Amy replied. "And I'll talk to you about it when you come and get me. Just give me a few minutes. I think there is a kiosk somewhere around here that I can go to."

"Ok, Amy. Just be careful!"

"I will. Bye bye for now!" Amy hung up the receiver and walked out of the booth. After looking around she saw an information kiosk on the northwest corner of the street.

_"I would have followed Shadow, but I think I have learned my place right now."_ Amy thought as she started for the kiosk.

* * *

Shadow continued to walk towards the central part of the park. He was right on time. 10:30 AM. He reached a park bench next to the biggest and leafiest tree in the entire park. This was where he was supposed to meet Sonic.

_"He better show up."_ Shadow thought to himself. _"I didn't drag myself out here for my health."_ Crossing his arms, he leaned against the tree and waited.

Shortly, Sonic appeared from the opposite side of the park. He was running pretty fast and Shadow could hear Sonic's shoes hit the concrete walkway. He stood up and centered himself in the walkway. Sonic stopped in front of him, breathing fast.

"Sorry about the wait, Shadow." breathed Sonic. "Ran into some rush hour traffic. Not pretty."

"So what is it that you need, Sonic?" demanded Shadow. "I don't normally do favors."

"Alright, well, something is happening to people." Sonic said. "There have been reports about people hearing voices, they wake up to noises in their homes, and they say that the feel like there are people watching them in their homes but no one is ever there." Shadow looked annoyed.

"So you called me here..to help humans?" asked Shadow. "I thought we already went over this part about my life."

"Shadow, you don't understand." Sonic stated. "People aren't the only ones. Tails called me the other night and told me he had a dream. A bad one at that! And it was about Amy." Shadow rolled his eyes. Sonic continued. "She is in trouble."

"Dreams are pigments of the imagination." Shadow scolded. "I can't help if Tails is too overprotective of his friend." Shadow turned around and crossed his arms as if he was ignoring the blue hedgehog.

"She's in trouble because of you!" exclaimed Sonic. Shadow's eyes opened wide and he slowly turned around towards Shadow.

"What do you mean?" questioned Shadow.

"I was trying to go to sleep the other night." Sonic started. "I couldn't sleep because I thought I was hearing things in my backyard. Once I got over the noise I got really tired and when I was about to fall asleep it was like there was someone right next to me talking right into my ear. I was too tired to turn around so I just listened. The voice said that you, Shadow, are the one responsible for what happens not only to the world, but to each and every single person. That was including the young, pink hedgehog, Amy Rose."

_"What?"_ wondered Shadow. He looked at the ground and contemplated everything Sonic had said.

"Shadow, I'm starting to think that we are about to deal with something way over our heads." Sonic mentioned. "I know I'm not crazy. I heard that voice just like the people of this city have complained about. And I think you are going to be led into a trap."

"Ok.." Shadow muttered. He seemed unconvinced. "I'm sorry Sonic but this all seems like a bunch of childsplay. Am I really supposed to believe that after all this time I was away and the world was at peace that some voice inside your head is an all seeing know-it-all that decided to become the new enemy? It seems too irrational. And why would anyone concern Amy Rose with me? I'm not her nanny."

Sonic lowered his head as if his spirit had been broken. "I asked you here for help." Sonic whispered. "Please, Shadow, please. If all of this IS true, Amy is in trouble, and so are you. Amy is my friend, no matter how..girly..she can be. And so are you. I care, even if you don't."

There was a moment of silence and after a few minutes Shadow spoke. "If it makes you feel any better I dropped Amy off by the south entrance to the park before I met you. She seemed fine to me."

"Wait, Amy was here?" asked Sonic. "Where is she now?"

"She went to call Dream or Beam or one of her little friends." answered Shadow. "I'm not going to look for her, if that is what you are implying."

"No, it's fine. I'll go find her. I'm going to need to tell her what's going on. Shadow, just let me know if you hear anything."

"Uhm..whatever. At least I know who to call if I start to go crazy." Shadow started walking back to his motorcycle. Sonic nodded, unsatisfied, and headed for the south entrance into the park.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**_ Shadow the Hedgehog and all related characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, shows, movies and etc. belong to Sega, the Sonic Team and all other affiliates.

_**Note to all readers:**_ The horizontal line in-between paragraphs indicate a period of time that has passed. Just so you know, so you don't get confused. :)

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Shadow was sitting on the edge of the sidewalk next to the motorcycle, tossing his chaos emerald over and over in his right hand. The people walking by were staring at him but he acted as if he was alone. It was as if nothing could break his concentration.

_"They're all insane."_ he thought. _"Voices? In their heads? I don't think so."_ Shadow stood up and his eyes penetrated everything that moved. _"But didn't I hear something last night..?"_ For a moment he was in a trance and then as he came to he slapped himself. _"Stupid, of course not! Shadow doesn't have any problems. Shadow only worries about himself. I don't help others for charity!"_ The hedgehog got onto his motorcycle almost hesitantingly and turned the key. The engine boomed and he began to drive off.

Instead of heading back to his enormous house, Shadow decided to take a trip to the local diner to grab a cup of coffee. He was tired, after all, because of his lack of sleep from the previous night. Once he arrived he walked straight in and sat at the counter. A waitress came up to him and greeted him kindly.

"What can I get for you, Sir?" she asked. Shadow looked at her nametag and saw the name..Maria.

"Maria?" Shadow whispered.

"Pardon?" said the waitress. "Is there anything I can get for you?" Shadow shook his head.

"Coffee. Black." he replied. As the waitress left Shadow laid his head on the counter. _"You're losing it."_ he thought. The girl came back with a pot of coffee and a mug.

"Just made fresh, Sir." said the waitress as she poured the hot liquid into the mug. "Anything else for you?"

"No." Shadow answered. He grabbed the warm mug and put it up to his nose. He smelled the coffee and a chill went down his back. Taking a sip, he closed his eyes and saw not a picture of Maria, but of Amy in his mind. _"What the hell? Nothing is going to happen to her! Get out of my head, Amy Rose!"_ Angrily, he slammed the mug onto the counter, set down a few dollars and stormed out of the diner.

Shadow grabbed his bike and he was off quicker than the speed of light. He raced through the city and out to the forest, from the small creek in the outskirts to the deer thicket that was next to his house. Once he reached his home he pushed the button on the garage opener and pulled into the giant expanse.

Almost predator-like, he stalked into his house and turned right to walk down the long hallway towards the room with his huge stone fireplace. Taking a long match from the mantle, he scored the surface of the match on the stone and threw it onto the wood. The fireplace blazed to life and the wood crackled as it burned.

He laid himself onto the big, chocolate brown suede couch in front of the fireplace and put his hands behind his head. He crossed his legs as he peered at the grandfather clock on the far wall. It was only 12:16 PM. He grunted and stared at the ceiling.

"Stupid animals." he said aloud. "They are just kids with wild imaginations." Shadow started to relax from head to toe almost instantly. His eyes began to get droopy and soon he fell into a light sleep.

* * *

Shadow awoke to the sound of the grandfather clock striking 9 o'clock PM. Opening his eyes he stretched his arms and legs and sat upright on the couch. The flames in the fireplace had died down to mere embers and the room was dark. A flash of lightning struck outside and lit the room for a second. The pitter-patter of the rain was the only thing that broke the echoing silence.

Thunder rolled as Shadow walked down the hallway and into his kitchen. He turned on the light and looked around. His stomach growled with hunger so he grabbed bread and some lunch meat from the fridge. He put the sandwich together and took a small bite. He finished the sandwich and put everything back where it was supposed to be. Suddenly, the lights shut off with the crack of thunder.

"Ugh, damnit!" he murmured. "Guess I'll have to go out to the fuse box." He seized a flashlight from the drawer next to the sink and meandered to the back door. Lightning flashed around his house as he opened the door. Clicking on the flashlight he walked around to the side of the house and opened the grey box mounted on the stucco. The box was filled with green, red and blue fuses and wires. Shadow located the wire labeled ELECTRICITY: LIGHTING and replaced the blown fuse with a new one that was in a pouch taped on the door of the box.

As soon as he finished Shadow pushed a small lever up and his house lit up instantly. Content with his result he closed the small door and walked back around to the back door. Just before he turned the knob, a voice came from behind him.

"Shadow?" said the light voice. He turned around to see Amy, standing straight up and soaked with water, facing him.

"What the hell, Amy?" Shadow exclaimed over the thunder. "What are you doing here? How did you find my house?"

"I had a bad dream, and I needed to find you." she answered. The rain started to come down harder and the ground became water logged. Shadow angrily walked towards her and shined the flashlight in her face.

"A bad dream?" he questioned. "So you're saying that you walked almost 30 miles to my house in the fucking rain because you had a bad dream!? You're absolutely insane!" He seared her innocent eyes with his and a frown overcame his face. Amy put her face into her wet hands and began to sob. Surprised by her reaction, Shadow relunctantly reached out to her.

"Ok, I didn't mean that." he said. He put his arms around her and gave her a friendly hug. Amy screamed at him as she pushed him away.

"Shadow!" she exclaimed. Shadow looked into her eyes and saw the angry fire burning within them. She continued to yell at him. "You're stupid, Shadow the Hedgehog! You're supposed to save me! You are supposed to choose me over everything else! I'm supposed to be important to you!" Amy stepped towards him and attempted to swing her hand to his face but Shadow caught her arm.

"What are you babbling about Amy Rose?" Shadow cried out over another boom of thunder. Amy screamed to the sky and looked back at Shadow. He could see something in her, through her eyes. An evil smirk smoothed itself across her face and she pulled her hand back. With a snap of her finger her hammer appeared in her right hand.

"Calm down, Amy. What the hell is your problem? What did I do?" He quickly dodged a swing of the giant hammer and moved to her side. "Hey! Stop! You are a fool if you think you can hurt me Amy Rose!"

"Maybe I can't hurt you physically, Shadow." she mumbled as she grabbed the handle of the hammer in both hands. "But ultimately I will be the key to your fate." Shadow couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Amy, just stop! You're mad!" Shadow stepped back and stood alert with clenched fists. "Don't make me fight back. I don't want to hurt you." With that, Amy leaped into the air and landed behind Shadow. Before he could turn around, she fiercely swung her hammer and hit him in the head. Shadow fell to the ground and the flashlight rolled out of his hand. Amy walked over to him and with another finger snap the hammer disappeared. Shadow attempted to keep his eyes open but failed.

Amy giggled. "So Shadow the Hedgehog does have a weak spot whether he wants to admit it or not." The voice coming from the body changed. It was still a woman's voice, but deeper, almost sinister sounding. "You'll see, Shadow. You'll see." Amy's figure walked away, leaving Shadow's unconscious body lying on the ground with the heavy rain still beating down on his fur.

* * *

The next morning Shadow awoke in the same spot that he was left in the night before. It was still cloudy but the rain was barely a sprinkle. Shivering and wet, he sat up and lifted his hand to his head. It thumped with pain. He slowly stood up and saw the flashlight a few feet away from him.

_"Did that really happen?"_ thought Shadow as he picked up the flashlight. He stumbled to his house and stepped inside. He first walked to the kitchen, got himself a ziploc bag and filled it with ice to put on the back of his head. Then he grabbed his home phone and dialed Sonic's home number. It rang three times until Shadow heard Sonic's voice over the phone.

"Hello?" Sonic asked.

"It's me." Shadow answered.

"Wow, you never call me."

"I realize that." said Shadow annoyed. "I had a question for you."

"And what is that?"

"Did you ever find Amy after we met at the park?"

"Yeah. She was at the information kiosk across the street from the phone booth next to your motorcycle." Silence followed Sonic's reply. "Shadow? What's wrong?"

"What did you tell her!?" Shadow asked.

"I told her what I told you." replied Sonic. "And when I asked her how she was getting home she told me not to worry about it and that Cream was going to pick her up. I asked her if she was sure and she said she was positive."

"And you left her there?"

"Well, I didn't think anything of it."

"Wow, Sonic. For having a girl chase after you for so long you sure don't know much about the gender."

"Shadow, why are you worried so much about it? What happened?" There was another moment of silence and Shadow finally spoke again.

"Amy, or someone that looks a lot like her, showed up at my house last night and about killed me."

"What do you mean?"

"My electricity went out last night because of that storm so I went out to switch the fuses. On my way back to the back door I saw Amy standing there. When I asked her why she came and how she found my house she answered me saying that she had a bad dream." Sonic didn't say anything so Shadow continued. "I guess I said something that made her mad and she hammered the shit out of my head."

"Well what the hell, Shadow!?" yelled Sonic.

"What!?" Shadow yelled back.

"Why'd you have to provoke her?"

"I didn't do anything!" Shadow exclaimed. "If you think I'd waste my time with some girl you're sadly mistaken. And I'm not in the mood to argue with you. It'll just give me more of a headache."

"Ok, so what happened after?" asked Sonic. "Where did she go?"

"She knocked me out, stupid." Shadow answered. "However, I don't think it was Amy. I'm not close to her or anything but right after she hit me in the head I could hear her voice faintly. It wasn't Amy's voice."

"So..now you believe me." Sonic said slyly.

"No." said Shadow. "I never said I did. But whether it was Amy or not..I..I need you to call Cream and make sure Amy got home."

"Why do you all of a sudden care about Amy?"

"Hello!? Were you not listening to the story I just told you? She knocked me the fuck out!"

"Alright, alright." said Sonic. "Let me call Cream and see if she went to get Amy yesterday. Then I'll call you back, ok?"

"Ok. Just hurry up." said Shadow. He hung up the phone before Sonic could say anything more and with the phone still in his hand he walked up the stone stairs to his room and into his bathroom. He set the phone on the small table next to the bathtub and drew hot water from the faucet. Once the bathtub was filled he set the ice pack on the counter, took off his gloves and shoes and laid himself in the warm water.

_"I really hope Amy is at home."_ thought the hedgehog. _"That couldn't have been her. She would never hurt me. I mean..she told me she was my friend."_ Shadow's mind raced about all of the possibilities that this situation could lead to. _"What if what she said was true? Am I going to have to choose between her and something else? Just call me, Sonic. Call me and tell me that she's at home."_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:**_ Shadow the Hedgehog and all related characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, shows, movies and etc. belong to Sega, the Sonic Team and all other affiliates.

_**Notice:**_ The new character being introduced in this chapter DOES belong to me. :)

_**Note to all readers:**_ The horizontal line in-between paragraphs indicate a period of time that has passed. Just so you know, so you don't get confused. :)

* * *

**Chapter 3**

A few hours went by and Shadow was already out of the bathtub and sitting at his counter once more, eating a pepperoni hotpocket fresh out of his microwave. The pain in his head was still hurting but it wasn't the throbbing pain that it was a while ago. He glanced at the oven clock and saw that it was already 1 PM.

"What the hell are you doing, Sonic?" he said aloud to himself. He took a drink of his ice water and got up to throw the remnants of his food away. He paced back and forth in his kitchen until finally his phone rang. He didn't hesitate to pick it up.

"Sonic?" Shadow said after he pressed the talk button.

"Yeah, it's me, Shadow." answered Sonic.

"What the hell, dude." said Shadow annoyed. "Where the hell have you been!? It's been at least three hours!"

"I know. I'm sorry but I've been trying to get ahold of everyone! No one answered Cream's house phone so I called Amy's house and she didn't answer either. I even tried Vector because I know that he talks to Vanilla..but I got nothing."

"Ugh, great! Just great!" yelled Shadow. "So basically, everyone is missing except you and me? Just freakin' peachy!" He slammed his fist onto the counter and closed his eyes. He laid his head on his hand and didn't say another word.

"I think we need to go look for them." Sonic said after a few seconds of silence.

"But I don't want to." said Shadow.

"Whatever, Shadow." Sonic scolded. "I know you do. You want to know exactly what attacked you last night. Just admit it!" Shadow grunted.

"You know, all I wanted when I moved away from all of you was some peace and quiet..away from the hero scene, away from everyone else's problems. No more Eggman, no more villians, no more choosing sides! Now all of a sudden voices are popping into people's heads and our friends are disapearing? Why does this always happen to me!?" Shadow was so angry that he slammed his fist onto the counter again and actually cracked the granite. "Fuck! Now I have to worry about my stupid counter."

"Shadow, I'm sorry to say it but you weren't meant to be alone. As much as you want to be life has reacted the opposite for you. I've always noticed..even when WE fought."

"Maybe you think so. I think differently. I am the way that I am, and that is that I like to be alone. I don't have anything to worry about when I'm by myself and I only do what is best for me! That is why I left. That is why I isolated myself and that is how it will always be! You dragging me into the park yesterday was a mistake. I want no part of this seemingly pointless journey." Sonic was silent for a moment.

"Shadow-"

"No!" shouted Shadow. "Everyone is fine, and I'm going to mind my own business like I intended to!" There was an awkward quietness between the two hedgehogs and it was apparent to Sonic that there was no tempting Shadow into helping.

"Well," started Sonic, "I'm going to Cream's house and then Amy's. If you want to join me, you can. I'll bring my comlink with me just in case." Shadow didn't say anything so Sonic spoke again. "I'm not asking you to be a hero. I'm asking you to be a friend." With that, Sonic hung up the phone and left Shadow listening to a dialtone. Shadow set the phone down onto the dock and stormed off into his living room. The house was dark because of the clouds outside. The rain that had seceded earlier that day was now coming back, although the lightning and thunder had not come back yet.

Oddly enough, Shadow walked outside to his backyard. As he walked forward, he looked straight ahead and observed the scenery. The endless amount of trees and other plants were slowly losing their green. _"Fall is coming."_ he thought. He kept walking forward, leaving his house behind and entering the ongoing, dark forest. The leaves still clinging to the tree branches were enough cover from the rain. Shadow stopped and looked at the ground. To the right of him he saw a large rock right at the base of an oak tree. He walked over to it and sat down, leaning his back onto the tree stump.

_"What am I supposed to do?"_ thought Shadow._ "All I want is to be alone. No one to bother me with their problems. I have my own."_ He grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and let it sift through his fingers. _"There's nothing wrong with what I want. Everyone gets what they want. Why won't I?"_ Shadow leaned his head on the tree and closed his eyes. As his thoughts wandered he could hear Maria's voice in the back of his mind.

_"I want you to promise me, Shadow."_ said Maria's soft voice. _"Promise me that you'll protect them..and keep them happy."_ Shadow played the event that took place between him and Maria over and over in his head. _"Promise me..Shadow.."_

"I promise, Maria." Shadow whispered. He opened his eyes and sat up straight.

"I promise, Maria." he said again, a little louder. This time he stood up and clenched his fists.

"I promise, Maria!" yelled Shadow. "I'm going to keep that promise. Maria..I promise!" Shadow raced back to his house and quickly grabbed his comlink from the kitchen drawer and clipped it onto his wrist. He drank the rest of his water on the counter and started heading to his garage. Just before he could reach the door, a massive pain hit Shadow in his head. It was more in the center than in the spot that he was hit. Grabbing his head, Shadow kneeled on the floor.

"Gah!" Shadow grunted. He felt paralyzed for a moment and finally the pain went away. He stood up and looked around the house. Nothing was around him except for his own belongings. Suddenly, he heard Amy's voice in his mind. It was sharp and loud as if she was right next to him.

_"Because you would have said no if you thought I wasn't important enough."_ he heard the high pitched voice say. Shadow, startled by the sound, continued to go into the garage and he hopped onto the bike. Before he started it he thought to himself.

_"Amy.."_ Her name repeated itself in his mind and he couldn't sit back anymore.

"Sonic. Are you there, Sonic?" Shadow bellowed into his communicator. There was no answer. "Sonic..!?" After a few seconds Shadow heard Sonic's playful voice on the other end of the communicator.

"What's up, Shadow?" he asked.

"I..I'm going to help you." Shadow replied with a sigh.

"That's great to hear!" Sonic responded. "But what's with the change of heart?"

"It's just something I have to do." hesitated Shadow. "I have..a feeling."

"Ok, well, I'm just glad you're going to help!" Sonic said joyfully. "I'm on my way to Cream's. Do you want to meet me there?" Shadow sat for a moment then addressed Sonic's question.

"Actually.." he started, "I'm going to Amy's. It may take me a while to get there but like I said..I have a feeling."

"Great, Shadow." said Sonic. "Let me know when you get there. If she's there then obviously she'll tell us what's going on." Shadow agreed with an "ok" then started up his motocycle.

"Thank you." Sonic said. "I appreciate it."

"I know you do." said Shadow. "But I'm doing it for me." Shadow opened the garage door with the remote and before he turned onto the road in front of the house, the same voice repeated itself in his head; _"Because you would have said no if you thought I wasn't important enough."_

"You're definitely an unpredictable one, Amy Rose." he whispered to himself with a half smirk. "I hope you're alright." As soon as he finished his sentence he drove away as quick as the flash of lightning behind him had struck the ground and returned back into the gray clouds.

* * *

The rain began pouring down harder, but it didn't stop Shadow from racing through the forest at bullet speed. His look was so determined, so anxious, so unlike himself. All he could think about was finding the answer to the situation he was in.

"No one plays me for a fool." said Shadow over the roar of his motorcycle. He continued on and didn't stop for anything. On his way to Amy's he passed through Juliani and about an hour later he passed through another small town. There, he stopped at a gas station to fill up his bike. He had about a half a tank but he didn't know if he would need the extra gas or not. He walked into the building, handed the clerk his credit card, payed for his gas and walked back out to the pump.

When the pump finished Shadow clicked it onto the holder and started up his bike again, taking off a little slower this time because of traffic. Once he was on the road he accelerated and eventually was going as fast as he had been. _"Only a little farther."_ he thought. And indeed, in about 45 minutes he, was sitting in front of the light green cottage. He observed the house and noticed that the roses in the garden in front of the house were starting to wilt.

"Amy wouldn't let her garden die." Shadow murmured to himself. As he turned off his motorcycle he then noticed an open window. The only problem with it, however, was that the left shutter looked broken.

Shadow lifted his leg so that he was off the bike and he made his way toward the house. He first walked over to the window. As he had observed the shutter was in fact cracked almost completely in half. _"A forced entry?"_ contemplated Shadow.

"Amy Rose!" Shadow shouted her name over a booming crack of thunder. There was no answer. He tried peering through the window but he could only see the kitchen. He walked around to the back of the house and noticed that the back door was wide open. Shadow's ears perked up and listened for any movement in the house. Curiously, he stepped inside and saw nothing but an empty, furnished house.

"Amy Rose?" he asked a little quieter this time. "Are you here?" His blazing eyes seared through everything in the room. He walked to the right and peeked into the kitchen again. Nothing looked like it had been put out of place. He then came back into the large living room and made his way towards another room. It seemed to be Amy's because of the small bed that was in it.

"Amy? Answer me, damnit!" Shadow yelled angrily. Angered by his lack of findings, he walked back outside into the stormy weather and contacted Sonic on the comlink.

"She's not here, Sonic." Shadow said disappoined. Sonic's voice crackled over the other end.

"Neither Amy or Cream are here." said Sonic. "Vanilla was here and she told me that Cream went with Amy to her house yesterday afternoon. She had gone grocery shopping when I called which is why I didn't get an answer. She hasn't heard from Cream or Amy." Shadow sat on the edge of the sidewalk.

"So what do you suppose we do?" Shadow mentioned. "This is like a wild goose chase. We have no leads to where they might be. Did you try asking Tails."

"Funny you mention it.." said Sonic. "He's not answering either. It's like all of the team is..gone."

"Are you kidding me?" Shadow scoffed. "What the-" A giggled was heard behind Shadow and his ear turned into that direction. He looked behind him and saw nothing. "Anyways, I-" A bush shook and he quickly eyed the plants in front of the house. "Hold on, Sonic. Something's here."

"Be careful." Sonic cautioned. Shadow rose from his seat and walked towards the bush. He pounced on the plant yet nothing came out of it. He growled and turned around. Unexpectedly, an invisible force pushed Shadow onto the grass. Shadow was startled from the event and rapidly rose again in his spot.

"Who are you?" Shadow yelled as the pouring rain began to come down in sheets of water. "Show yourself, coward." As soon as he said that, he heard another giggle and a figured began to appear before Shadow's eyes. He squinted through the rain and slowly began to realize that it was not a person or even a ghost, but an animal.

"Now, Shadow, do you really have to be mouthy to get what you want?" said a womanly voice. As the figure became clearer, Shadow gasped and was taken aback when he saw in front of him, himself.

"Your voice.." Shadow started. "I heard it come from Amy's mouth when she hit me."

"Ugh, I just hate when everyone mixes me up with another being." she said. "Bugs me to hell." The figure of Shadow walked over to the bush and plucked a flower from it. It wilted in her hand. Shadow was speechless. "Well aren't you going to say anything, Shadow?"

"Who are you? And why do you look like me?" he demanded. "Tell me, creature."

"Why, you don't know who I am?"

"Apparantly not, you wretch."

"No need to be mean, Shadow." the creature said as she walked behind a nearby tree. When she came around the other side, she wasn't Shadow anymore. She was now another figure. Shadow realized that she changed into Amy.

"So it was you!" Shadow yelled as lightning struck the ground in front of him. "You came to my house last night. You bashed me and about killed me!"

"Oh, no. You have me mistaken. I would never kill you, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"How do you know my name!?" Shadow yelled again.

"My, aren't you impatient." The creature glared into Shadow's blazing eyes. They were locked on and Shadow felt paralyzed once more.

"What are you doing? Stop this!" He tried to move but failed. "What did you do to Amy?"

"Is that girl all you ever worry about?" asked the creature as she moved closer to Shadow. She walked behind him and pressed the soft, pink body against his.

"Stop!" he screamed. A hand cradled Shadows face and slid down to his neck. Two fingers brushed over his fur and onto his back.

"It's such a pity..that you worry so much about one thing..when there is so much going on around you." The creature walked back in front of Shadow and it's emerald green eyes met his.

"What are you talking about?" asked Shadow.

"This Amy Rose that you have found yourself looking for..she is the only one that you seem to be looking for..when others that you have called your friends are gone as well." Suddenly, Shadow fell to his feet, weak and unsteady. The creature continued to speak as she ran her fingers through Shadow's quills. "Is it true that I found a weakness in Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate life form? Is it true that this, girl, is key to your empty and broken heart?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Shadow managed to say.

"Of course you do, Shadow." the voice answered. "Of course you do." The body of Amy soon changed again into another form. When Shadow looked up he saw neither him nor Amy, but Sonic. He gasped and was pushed onto the ground again. A blue knee landed on his chest and a hand extended over Shadow's head.

"No..I..feel so..weak.." Shadow whispered.

"Shh.." said the voice. "Let me see..into your mind..your abandoned spirit." The hand drifted on top of Shadow's heart. The voice that Shadow could hear now sounded more vial, more evil. "Search your heart, Shadow. Feel the feelings that you once had. Show them to me..show me the things that you desire..show me what makes you angry, what sparks the fire in your empty soul." Shadow closed his eyes and attempted to stop the madness that was surrounding him. He was unable to stop the currents flowing through him, and emotions rushed through his mind. _"Amy.."_ he thought.

"Yes, Shadow." When Shadow opened his eyes, he once again saw himself. The creature moved itself off of the hedgehog and with a burst of adrenaline Shadow jumped at the figure. It disappeared before he reached it, and it reappeared behind him.

"I know what you want." said the voice coming from the mouth of the other hedgehog. "You're weak, pathetic..just like everyone else."

"No, you're wrong." Shadow said turning around. "Whatever you did to Amy and the others..you'll pay when I find out what happened to them."

"Your friends are fine.." the voice chuckled. "For now. It is up to you whether you are able to find them in time." Shadow screamed and fell to his knees, feeling the weakness he felt earlier.

"Where are they? Tell me, creature!" Shadow yelled with his last amount of energy.

"You already know, Shadow." said the voice. "You already know." The figure began walking away from Shadow until he exclaimed, "Beast! You better not hurt her!" The figure of Shadow stopped and a crack of thunder shook the ground underneath it's feet.

"Oh, I'm not going to hurt anyone. It's your choice, hedgehog..your choice." Shadow reached out his hand to the figure as it disappeared in thin air. Shadow screamed at the top of his lungs and emotions of anger, hatred and passion mixed and flowed through every ounce of his body.

"Fine!" he exclaimed. "I do care! I care about everyone! I care that some bastard has them in a trap and they won't be set free until I help them! I promised that I would help them and keep them happy, and that's what I'm going to do!" With that, the rain slowly let up into a light sprinkle. A hole formed in-between two clouds and a small ray from the setting sun shone through and stretched East across the world. Shadow studied the picturesque and now..he knew.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:**_ Shadow the Hedgehog and all related characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, shows, movies and etc. belong to Sega, the Sonic Team and all other affiliates.

_**Note to all readers:**_ The horizontal line in-between paragraphs indicate a period of time that has passed. Just so you know, so you don't get confused. :)

_**ALSO! **_This chapter is kind of short but I needed to prep you for Chapter 5. Don't worry, it gets better!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit!" screamed Shadow and he struck the ground with his fist with each word. "Shadow you're so stupid!"

"Shadow, Shadow! What happened? Talk to me!" yelled Sonic over the comlink. Shadow paused and pressed the button to reply.

"We have a huge problem." Shadow answered. "I ran into a shapeshifter. Our friends are in trouble. I can't explain it, but you need to come to Amy's house and we need to talk about this."

"Of course, Shadow. Right away! I'll be there soon!"

"Good. Later." Shadow replied. Still on the ground, he sat up to kneel on his knees and he stared into the sky. The long strip of bright sunshine that appeared through the break in the clouds was gone. Shadow felt his anger flow through his veins and his blood boiled as the clouds came back together. His fur damp and shoes wet he walked into the cottage and sat on the couch in the middle room. He closed his eyes and thought about what he needed to do.

_"Why does this happen to me?" _he asked himself. _"How pathetic am I? The ultimate life form in distress because his friends are missing and he is responsible for saving their lives?" _He opened his eyes and eyed the lifeless plant in front of him. The once green leaves were now brown and wilted. Shadow got up and walked over to the plant. He grasped the leaves in his hand, squeezed them and let the broken pieces fall onto the floor. He bowed his head and his straight face went into a frown. _"Why do I care so much about Amy Rose? My weakness? This monster must know more about me than I do. But I mean..come on..my weakness? It can't be. I'm not like this."_ Suddenly, Sonic showed up with a screeching halt.

"Told ya I'd be here right away!" he said happily. "Now explain what happened."

"Ok, you might want to like..chill..and sit down." Both of the hedgehogs sat on the big fluffy couch and Shadow began to descibe his encounter with the shapeshifter. He explained everything that the creature did to him, everything that it said and everything that he saw after it left. He even told Sonic about how the shapeshifter went into his mind and found his feelings, his emotions and everything that he had remembered.

"It was like I was in the past again." Shadow said. "As it stretched into my mind it made me relive everything that had happened to me and I wasn't strong enough to challenge it. It drained my body of all my energy. But when it left I felt myself again." Sonic's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Wow, Shadow. I can't believe this!" Sonic exclaimed. "We need to find everyone soon! Did this monster say where she took them? Give any clues?" Shadow looked down at the floor.

"The only thing that she said was that I already knew and that it was my choice." Sonic looked confused.

"Huh?"

"I already know where to find them." Shadow said. "It's whether or not I choose to go."

"Well if you have taken the time to tell me exactly what happened then I think you're going to go."

"Sonic, don't push me."

"Shadow, are you serious? You just opened yourself to me about your feelings and now you aren't going to help?"

"I never said I wasn't going to help." said Shadow angrily.

"You just told me that the shapeshifter said that Amy was your weakness. You know what that means, Shadow." Sonic eyed Shadow. Shadow just stared at Sonic.

"I don't care about Amy Rose or anyone else for that matter." Shadow said defensively.

"Whatever!" Sonic yelled. The blue hedgehog stood up and got into Shadow's face. "Stop this act, Shadow! I know who you are. You say you want to be alone but I know that you know that you are happy when you're with the team..and you LIKE IT!" Shadow stood up and boomed back at Sonic.

"An act, is it!? You should be appreciative of me! If it wasn't for me on more than one occasion you and everyone else would probably be dead right now!"

"Oh, yeah? Well you say that as if you were driven to do it! Tell me, why did you help us on this 'more than one occasion'?"

"Oh my gosh..just shut up!"

"Admit it!" Sonic yelled while waving his fists in the air. "You wanted to help us, and you care about us! And you care about Amy too!"

"Fine! You want a fucking answer? Yes! I fucking give a damn! I stay away from you guys so that I don't cause problems! It seems like every time I come around something bad happens. I wanted the team to be problem free, ok?" Shadow gasped for a breath and he fell onto the couch.

"Why is it so hard for you to admit that you care, Shadow?" Sonic asked innocently.

"Because I don't want to care." Sonic had a sad look in his eyes and he sat on the opposite end of the couch. Shadow twirled his fingers in circles. Sonic turned to Shadow and spoke to him with a soft voice.

"If you care as much about everyone as you say..including Amy..then we need to work together. This creature isn't one to mess with. It has strange powers that we've never seen and I know you won't take what it did to you." Shadow looked up at Sonic. His look was calm and his face was relaxed.

"I agree." Shadow said as he nodded. "Sonic, I know Amy has chased you around forever..but there's just something about her..and I'm intending to find out what."

"It's ok, Shadow." said Sonic. "I'm ok with that." He smiled and Shadow had a sad look in his eyes.

"Then let's go help her. Let's go help our friends." Shadow surrendered. Sonic nodded.

"So where do we go, pal?" Sonic asked as Shadow looked surprisingly at him.

"We're going to head East. I have..a feeling." Shadow smirked. Together the hedgehogs stood and walked outside to the front yard of the light green cottage. Shadow peered over at his motorcycle, then at his feet. "This is no place my bike can go." He walked over to his vehicle and grabbed the handle bars, pulling it around to the back of the house. As he sauntered back to Sonic he noticed that night had almost taken the sky again. The clouds had cleared and the bright, white moon shone its light on the ground. Many stars were in the sky aiding the moon.

"Ready? It's a long way." Shadow said.

"Let's go." Sonic answered as he stepped next to Shadow. Shadow acknowledged that it was his part to lead the way and with one step the two hedgehogs raced East, leaving behind them a trail of red and blue light.

* * *

Night was still upon them while both Sonic and Shadow darted through cities, sped through swamps and dashed through forests. Eventually, a few hours later, they reached a barren desert when Shadow suddenly stopped because of a sharp pain in his head. He put his head in his hands and when the pain subsided he motioned to Sonic to come to him.

"There's something here." Shadow said. "I feel it." They began walking around and halted when a grumbling noise was heard.

"That's not your stomach, is it Shadow?" asked Sonic nervously.

"I don't think so." Shadow quivered. They took a few more steps forward when all of a sudden the sandy ground beneath their feet started to split apart. The brown sand fell like a waterfall into the dark abyss and the moving plates separated the hedgehogs. They made their way towards the edges of the plates and looked at each other. With a slight nod and a quick laugh both of them jumped into the black pit, leaving the stars, the moon and the sky behind.

They fell and fell until finally both of them landed feet first on a silver platform. It was dark all around them and the way they came in had shut. The only way to go was forward.

"You alright?" Shadow asked Sonic.

"Yeah, you?"

"Great." Shadow placed his foot in front of him. Nothing happened.

"Be careful. We have no idea what could happen." Sonic mentioned. Shadow took another step forward and an unsuspected light lit up the unknowing place. One by one many pairs of lights illuminated a black hallway in front of them. With Sonic behind Shadow they advanced through the hallway and when at the other end they were faced with three more hallways.

"Which one?" questioned Sonic. Shadow kneeled on the ground and closed his eyes. He put his hands on the ground and simply listened. _"Come on, Amy. Tell me where you are."_ They sat there for a few minutes until finally a voice awakened the silence in Shadow's mind.

_"So you are happy to see me.."_ said Amy's joyful voice. Shadow smiled and rose as he turned to the hallway on his right.

"It's this way." Shadow asserted.

"Are you sure?" Sonic asked.

"More than sure." Shadow walked into the hallway and with each step a new light animated in front of him. The path wound left and right with no intention of ending. With hope Sonic and Shadow kept on going.

"Shadow are you sure this was the way to go?"

"Trust in me, Sonic." Shadow said demandingly.

"Alright." It was about 8 minutes until they finally reached a door. It seemed impossible to open. Both of the hedgehogs searched for means to open it but failed. There was no panel, no keyhole, no sign of opening it.

"No!" shouted Shadow. "I chose the right way! Amy is on the other side!" He punched at the door fiercely with both fists while Sonic tried to calm him down.

"Shadow, stop! You need to calm down." Sonic reassured him. "We'll find a way in."

"Amy! I'm coming!" Shadow yelled. Suddenly a large door dropped from the ceiling, preventing them from leaving. Shadow and Sonic stopped moving and faced back to back, turning in circles.

"Uh oh.." said Sonic.

"What!?" Shadow asked. Sonic pointed at the wall and a small panel slid open from the ceiling. A red smoke started to fill the small space.

"Don't worry we'll get-" Both Shadow and Sonic fell to the floor as the gas filled their lungs. "No.." Soon both of them were unconscious.

* * *

Shadow awoke and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and he coulnd't make out much.

"Sonic.." he mumbled. His head thumped with pain as he tried to sit up. He opened his eyes wider as he became more able to see. Grabbing his head once again he stood up and squinted as the bright lights of the room he was in shone brightly. Shadow turned his head around to observe the room. The edges of the floor seemed to go on forever and end in a burning wall of white light. Around him was a variety of top notch machinery, all of them beeping and droning to life.

Shadow's pain slowly seceded and he began to walk around the room. There was no sign of Sonic or a way out. To his left he noticed a small, neon tank. Inquisitively he made his way over to the tank and observed that inside was the one and only Amy Rose. She floated in the tank with her arms laying limply next to her and her body moved up and down slowly with the current of the fluid inside.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: **_Shadow the Hedgehog and all related characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, shows, movies and etc. belong to Sega, the Sonic Team and all other affiliates.

_**Note to all readers:**_ The horizontal line in-between paragraphs indicate a period of time that has passed. Just so you know, so you don't get confused. :)

GUYS, I NEED REVIEWS! I don't want to be writing stuff that people don't like! So let me know what I need to improve on and/or any other helpful or nice coments!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Shadow merely stood near the tank jaw-dropped. He rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real. He saw Amy motionless and tension filled his body.

"What!? Are you kidding me!?" he said. "Amy, hold on!" Shadow looked around for something to break open the glass tank. He walked over to a large metal machine and grabbed onto a thick, round pipe coming from the top of it. With brute strength and a burst of adrenaline he ripped the part off of the machine and walked back toward Amy. Wailing with anger he took the pipe at one end and swung it furiously at the tank that held Amy. It struck the glass and cracked slightly. Again, Shadow brought the pipe back to him and swung it. It hit the same spot again and the crack grew and reached both the bottom and top of the holding tank. Amy's body remaind lifeless.

"Break!" Shadow yelled. With one last swing, the pipe broke through the glass and the pressure from the liquid forced the rest of the cage open, bringing Amy's body to the floor, wet and cold. Shadow dropped the pipe, sat next to Amy and cradled her head in his hands. He lightly tapped her on the face attempting to wake her up.

"Amy Rose, come on, wake up!" Shadow commanded as if she were able to hear him. He put his ear next to her mouth to listen for a breath but got nothing. He laid her body on the ground and attempted to revive her. He put both hands on her chest and pushed a few times. He listened for another breath but there was still nothing. He tried pressing on her chest again and this time he was able to get something faint, like a small wheezing sound. He grunted.

"Ugh..why?" he whispered. He opened Amy's mouth and put his lips on hers. He let out one huge breath and suddenly Amy's eyes opened and she pushed him away.

"Woah, woah, woah!" she gurgled. Shadow sat there while Amy turned onto her stomach and fluid emerged from her body through her mouth. She coughed as she gasped for air. Shadow came back to Amy and rubbed her back. Amy wiped her mouth and turned to face Shadow. She then looked around at all of the things in the bright room and she gulped.

"I'm guessing we aren't back at home." she said. "What happened Shadow?"

"You were kidnapped." replied Shadow. "And so was the rest of the team besides Sonic and I."

"Sonic's here?" Amy asked. Shadow had a look of disapprovement and annoyance.

"I came here with him but we were gassed and I woke up in this room. When I saw you in that tank I couldn't help but get you out."

"I don't even remember being put in there." said Amy. "I don't even remember being kidnapped. But I am so glad that you came for me, Shadow." Amy hugged Shadow and he just stayed where he was. It was a few seconds before he let his straight face turn into a smile and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm just glad you are safe." he said as their hug broke apart. Shadow stood up and stretched out his hand towards Amy. She grabbed his hand without any doubt and weakly stood up.

"Since when do you care about..me?" asked Amy curiously. Shadow looked longingly into Amy's green eyes and then shifted his eyes to her feet.

"I..I have always cared." he forced out. "The last two days have been an eye opener for me. I have no idea what's going on inside of me. However, I find out something new about myself every so often." Shadow looked back into Amy's eyes and he smiled slightly when he saw Amy's surprised look.

"Wow." Amy let out. "I never thought you cared..about anything." There was a short silence until Shadow let out a scream. He fell to the ground and grabbed his head with both of his hands.

"Not again!" he screamed. He grunted as the sharp, stabbing pain grew.

"Shadow! What wrong?" Amy exclaimed worringly. "Shadow!" She knelt down to him and ran her fingers through his red and black quills.

"Amy, stop! Get away.. I don't know what's going to happen." Shadow struggled to lean on his hands and meet his face with Amy's. Amy could see the passion in his eyes and she backed away.

"Back!" Shadow yelled again. Amy backed up to the tank that she was once in and began to tear up.

"Shadow, I'm scared. What's happening?" Shadow rose to his knees and stared at the ceiling.

"Coward, show yourself!" Shadow cried out ferociously. His voiced echoed in the giant space and a malicious cackle was heard. Shadow cried out again. "Bitch, come on!"

_"Now is not the time, Shadow."_ he heard the voice say. He let out a bloodcurdling scream and fell to the ground unconscious. Although startled, Amy ran over to Shadow and she sat with her legs crossed. She turned Shadow on his back and laid his head in her lap. She gently caressed his cheek and tears swelled in her eyes.

"No, Shadow, wake up!" she pleaded. As a tear fell from her cheek and landed on Shadow's forehead, he opened his eyes and put his hand over hers.

"It's ok." he whispered. "I'm fine."

"What was that voice?" Amy asked.

"It's the creature that is responsible for all of this." Shadow answered. "I was too weak to keep it out. It's in my mind and won't go away. We need to stop it.."

"Shh." Amy shushed as she put her hand on his forehead. "Rest for now, Shadow. You're in pain. You can explain everything later."

"We might not have later." Shadow pushed.

"But we especially won't have later if you fight when you're already hurt." Shadow blinked a few times and looked up at Amy. She eyed him innocently and he smirked. He tried to sit up but the pain in his head prevented him from going all the way and he laid back down on Amy's pink, furry legs.

"You're exhausted." Amy sighed. "This is my fault. If I would have been more careful..if I'm here that must mean Cream is here too! Oh gosh, what did I do.."

"It's not your fault." Shadow interrupted. "Don't say that. Just..Amy Rose..don't leave my side." Shadow's eyes closed and he relaxed as if all of his tension left his dark and strong body. Amy couldn't believe what she had just heard him say. _"I won't."_ she thought. Amy leaned her head on Shadow's, and she closed her eyes. She could feel the beat of his heart in the veins of his head and it was slow and steady. Soon, both of them, tired, confused and cold, fell into a light sleep..hand in hand.

* * *

A little while later Shadow woke up and noticed that he was still asleep on Amy's lap. He sat up and saw Amy sleeping on the floor. Her hand was still in his and he gently removed his hand to help him stand up. He walked over to one of the machines in the room and examined it with only his eyes. There was no indication of buttons or that it was even functional. Next to the machine he noticed an opening through all of the metal. It was a slightly small space but he squeezed through and touched a wall. This part of the wall, however, was different. Although it was lit up just like the other walls it was cold on Shadow's fingers and seemed to wobble.

"What are you doing?" said Amy from behind him. She was standing right behind Shadow with a smile on her face. "Are you trying to push open that wall?"

"Amy, I'm eating a sandwich." Shadow said sarcastically. "Of course I'm trying to push it open! We need to get a way out of here."

"My you're cranky when you wake up." Amy giggled. Shadow rolled his eyes and gave up trying to push the door open. Instead, he turned to the machine and using his feet to push on the adjacent panel the machine slid across the floor, screeching and making both of the hedgehogs' ears flinch. Shadow then started walking opposite the direction of the wall and when he was across the room he turned back around.

"Move, Amy." Shadow commanded. Amy shuffled away from Shadow's path. He started running and bashed into the wall with his head. Nothing happened but he let out an "ouch."

"Shadow, you silly! Don't do that! You will hurt yourself!" Amy said. Shadow looked at her as if he was annoyed.

"How else do you expect us to get out of here?"

"Have you tried looking for a panel or something with buttons?"

"Yes.."

"I bet you haven't looked over here!" She pointed to the opposite end of the room. She jogged over to where she pointed and began searching for something to push. "Shadow, have you ever just sat back from a problem and found the answer right under your nose?"

"No." he replied.

"Well, I hope you know that you don't know all of the answers." said Amy. "Sometimes you need the help of others to figure out solutions."

"I know that."

"And sometimes you can't even do anything! You have to rely on others to find out stuff without you."

"What is your point?"

"I'm just saying."

"Saying what?"

"That I can help you." Shadow shut his eyes half way and eyed Amy's pinkness.

"I don't think you can help me right now. You don't even know how you got here."

"Sure I can. Maybe I can't help you get out of this room but I can help you with other things." She shut her eyes and put her head down while smiling.

"Huh?"

"Shadow, you asked me not to leave your side when your head was hurting..and I didn't." Amy turned around and stepped towards Shadow. "Why do you admit that you have always cared? You left us..you left me. If you cared about us you wouldn't have left."

"Amy, it's not like that."

"It's not, is it!?" Amy exclaimed. "Don't you remember our talk, Shadow? Before you left you took me aside and asked me to do something."

"What? I don't remember-"

"Yes you do! We were all at Sonic's because we just got done beating up Eggman again and you took me outside and told me."

"Told you what!?"

"That when you left I was to NOT follow you. You said you didn't care about anyone except yourself. You asked me to.." Amy sighed and tears filled her wide eyes.

"What?"

"You asked me to find someone else! You said that you didn't want any part in my life and that you were never going to come back." Amy collapsed to the floor and sobbed in her hands. Shadow's jaw dropped and he replayed that night in his head. _"Oh yeah.."_ he thought. _"At Sonic's in his front yard. That's when I left. I left without saying goodbye.."_

"I don't expect you to remember." Amy mumbled. "It was a while ago. I went inside the house and when I turned around..you weren't behind me." Amy's sob turned into an uncontrollable burst of tears. Shadow's ears folded back and he kneeled down to Amy's level. He lifted her chin with his hand and seared into her soul through her eyes.

"I left because I did care." Shadow committed. "I cared enough to the point that I didn't want anything bad to happen to anyone. Especially..you."

"I don't understand." Amy said. "I thought after that whole Eggman incident that you wanted to stay with me. I thought that it was just another Sonic issue. I was falling for someone I couldn't have."

"Amy I left so that nothing bad would happen to you!" Shadow scolded. "Every time something happens to you guys it always ends up being my fault so I figured if I escaped the scene no one would miss me and no one would get into trouble. As you can tell it obviously didn't work." Amy gasped and slapped Shadow across the face with her small, gloved hand. Shadow just sat there in shock.

"Shadow the Hedgehog! When you're part of a team you stick by each other through thick and thin, the bad times and the good times! Shame on you, Shadow! Everyone wondered what happened when I walked in without you. Sonic joked that I scared you away. Then when I told everyone what you said they couldn't believe it. No one thought you would leave the way you did no matter how antisocial and mean you could be sometimes." Amy turned her head away from Shadow. "I thought I wasn't good enough for you."

"Amy Rose don't you ever say that." Shadow demanded. He grabbed her head in both of his hands and brought her eyes level with his. "I saw the world crash and burn in your eyes that night. My heart shattered when I said the words I did. But I thought it was the best thing to do at that time. You can't blame me for trying to protect you!" He took a deep breath and let go of her face. Amy leaned her head on Shadow's shoulder and he put his arm around her.

"But when you saw me the day I got lost..you acted as if I wasn't even your friend."

"When I left Amy, it took me a little while and eventually I lost all feeling about everything. I had been alone for so long. Then I saw you again, standing there in your little pose and those feelings began to surface. After all this time they have come back and I realized that there was something about you."

"And what was that?" she sniffled.

"That if you weren't important enough..I wouldn't have cared so much in the first place." Amy smiled and wrapped her skinny arms under Shadow's strong ones. Without hesitation he embraced her and tilted his head so that it leaned on hers. With one hand he caressed her back and sighed. "I care about you, Amy Rose..and you are more than good enough for me."

"I've been waiting to hear you say that, Shadow." Amy said softly. "I've been waiting for a long time.

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: **_Shadow the Hedgehog and all related characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, shows, movies and etc. belong to Sega, the Sonic Team and all other affiliates.

_**Note to all readers:**_ The horizontal line in-between paragraphs indicate a period of time that has passed. Just so you know, so you don't get confused. :)

GUYS, I NEED REVIEWS! I don't want to be writing stuff that people don't like! So let me know what I need to improve on and/or any other helpful or nice coments!

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**Chapter 6**

The two hedgehogs sat on the floor without letting go of their embrace. Amy was still sobbing while her face was in Shadow's chest.

"Why are you still crying?" Shadow asked her.

"I'm just happy." replied Amy. "Someone cares about me just as much as I care about them." Shadow smiled and only hugged her tighter. Amy lifter her head and looked at Shadow. "And you're saving me because of that and not because I was just on the way to your destination." Shadow stared into her emerald green eyes and sighed. He cradled her cheek in his hand and Amy closed her eyes.

"We still need to worry about the problem at hand." he said. "As much as I don't want this to end we have to get out of here and find everyone else." Amy nodded and jumped when Shadow's comlink crackled to life.

"Sh-Shadow? Where are you?" Sonic's voice managed to say.

"Sonic, glad to know you are alive." Shadow said. "But the question is where are YOU?"

"I asked you first!" Sonic joked. Shadow just shook his head.

"I'm in some sort of storage room. It's really bright and Amy's here with me."

"That's great! Is she ok?"

"Yes. She's fine now." Shadow mumbled. "Now we need to know how we can get out of here. Where are you?"

"I'm in some type of computer room. This stupid beeping thing keeps..beeping. It's really annoying."

"Sonic, if you are in a computer room then there has to be a way that you can let us out of here." Shadow stood up and was joined by Amy who stood behind him.

"Well, I'm looking at what looks like a video screen. It looks like I have a camera looking at me. Look around. Is there a camera anywhere near you?" Shadow and Amy looked around for a video camera but saw nothing. Amy walked over to the tank that she used to be in.

"Doesn't look like it, Sonic." Shadow said.

"Wait!" squeaked Amy. "Look, Shadow!" Shadow walked over to Amy and noticed a small camera at the very corner of the top of the tank. It seemed to be looking right at them and they saw a red flashing light.

"Sonic, we found one. So if you are in some sort of control room try to find this camera."

"Alright! I'll let you know what I find." Sonic's voice faded.

"Well I guess all we have to do is wait." Amy said. "Sit with me." She sat down next to the tank away from the cold fluid on the floor.

"Ugh, I hate waiting." Shadow muttered.

"It's all we can really do right now." Shadow stepped next to Amy and sat down.

"Can I ask you something?" Shadow whispered.

"Of course, Shadow." Amy smiled.

"Well, you see, I have never felt this close to someone before. It's just like, you know really nothing about me but you want to be with me. I'm not a hero, Amy. I'm not much of anything." Amy moved in front of Shadow and looked at him.

"You're right, I don't know much about you. But neither do you know a lot about me. I don't know the kind of things that you have been through. I don't know you're past and you don't know mine. What matters, Shadow, is who you are now, not what you were then." Amy put her hand on Shadow's cheek and continued to speak ever so softly. "I don't want you to be a hero. I want you to be yourself." Shadow smiled and grabbed Amy's arms, pulling her closer to him. Their faces were almost touching and Shadow looked down at the pink hedgehog. His ruby red eyes pierced her look and she leaned closer to him. They could feel each other's breath on their fur. As they leaned in even closer Sonic's voice came over the comlink.

"Shadow! I've found a control box." Amy's ears flicked and she drew herself away from Shadow. _"Damnit, Sonic!" _thought Shadow.

"That's good news." Shadow replied relunctantly over the communicator. "Does it have any clues to where we might be? Like a storage room door button, anything like that? It may be that obvious, it may not."

"Uhm there are a whole bunch of buttons. There's one that says 'Mech Room 003'. Want me to try?"

"Just try anything until we find something to work with." In the other room Sonic punched a series of buttons and nothing happened.

"There is a lever on the side of the box. Should I try that too?" Sonic asked.

"Why do you ask when you know I'll say do it?"

"Sor-ry." Sonic said sarcastically. A moment later the wall that Shadow had bashed himself into earlier was lifting into the ceiling, revealing a pitch black hallway.

"It worked. A door opened." Shadow muttered to Sonic.

"Great!" Sonic exclaimed. "But Shad, I don't think whoever gassed us put me in here without thinking. Watch your back. I'm going to try and find a way out of this computer room and look for our friends. We'll meet up later."

"Ok, sounds good. Let me know if you find anything out." Shadow pushed a button and silenced the buzzing comlink. "You ready to go, Amy?"

"It's scary in there. There's no light." she quivered.

"I'll be right here with you." Shadow said while holding onto her hand with his. Amy smiled and looked at her hand then back up at Shadow. "You'll be fine."

"I won't leave your side." Shadow nodded and the two hedgehogs began walking into the dark hallway. Amy squeezed Shadow's hand in fear and buried her head in his back. They walked slowly, one step at a time, and were led through a series of turns. At this point, Shadow had lost the light from the room and was in total darkness. Amy still had her head in Shadow's back and she was shivering.

"Are we almost there?" she whispered.

"I'm not sure." Shadow answered. "Just calm down. Everything's going to be alright." Shadow continued leading on in the hallway with his free hand out to feel any object in front of him. It was a while later until they reached the end of the tunnel. Shadow could feel the icy metal wall in front of him and he grunted.

"Looks like we have reached the end." Shadow muttered.

"What!? The end!?" Amy shrieked. She stumbled to the wall and started banging on it.

"Amy, stop!" Shadow demanded. "We're going to have to either wait here or go back. We don't really have too many choices."

"You're the one who led us this way!"

"Come on, now. Don't go playing the blame game."

"I'm not. I'm stating the obvious." Shadow was slightly annoyed by her remark. Amy folded her arms and stared in Shadow's direction but couldn't see a thing.

"Well fine then!" Shadow said. "Find your own damn way out of here."

"Dont be like that." said Amy.

"You're being _like that._" Shadow claimed.

"Puh!" Amy puffed. "Meanie." Shadow's mouth dropped open.

"Are you kidding me? You're being such a girl." Amy reached out for Shadow but missed. Shadow noticed her motive and he stepped forward and pushed her into the wall, grabbing both of her arms.

"Shadow, stop it." Amy whimpered.

"No, you stop it! I know just as much about this place as you do. So if you want to complain go somewhere else! If you want to stay with me then accept my choices in what to do!" Shadow's head began to thump and he quickly let go of Amy. She was lightly sobbing and Shadow put his hand to his face. There was a short moment of silence.

"Shadow? Are you still there?" questioned Amy.

"Yes." Shadow said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Amy stepped towards Shadow and reached for him again, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"This pain in my head..when I'm with you..when I talk to you..it never goes away." Shadow put his other hand on the hand of Amy's that was on his shoulder. "I'm thinking that finding a way out of here is the least of our worries."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a feeling..a bad feeling." By now, Amy was content and Shadow's pain was pretty severe. It hadn't gone away for several minutes and he figured until he found the source of their situation that it wouldn't go away. "We need to get out of here. Now."

"How are we going to do that?" Amy asked. "We can't see a thing."

"Hold on." Shadow walked over towards the dead end and leaned his ear onto the metal. He knocked on it with his fist and heard an echo. He sighed with relief. "This wall is hollow."

"And that means.."

"It means that I can probably knock it down. However, I'm going to need your help."

"How can I help?" Shadow grabbed her arm and walked backwards as far as he could from the wall. Once they were as far away as possible he held onto Amy's hand and his head had a stabbing pain. He flinched but tried to ignore it. He crounched down as if he were about to pounce onto something and with his free hand he rubbed over the ground.

"I need you to run as fast as you can. Put your hands in front of you and run."

"What is that going to do?"

"Just trust me. I'm going to run right behind you.

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it." Both of them braced themselves and at the same time they bolted. Suddenly, the wall slowly started to lift open, letting light escape into the dark hallway. Amy lifted her hand over her eyes and Shadow noticed a figure standing in their way. He grabbed Amy, hugging her and he rolled into the light. They escaped the hallway and rolled right into the figure standing before them. All three bodies tumbled through the lit room until finally they stopped abruptly, hitting a giant machine. Amy squealed, Shadow grunted and the other just layed there breathing heavily.

"Amy, come!" Shadow said while he hurriedly lifted Amy away from the figure. It was only a second when they realized it was Sonic.

"What was that about, guys?" Sonic let out.

"Sonic!" Amy said. She ran over to him and helped him up. "Are you alright?" Shadow folded his arms.

"Yeah, thanks." Sonic stood up and smiled at Amy. He then looked at Shadow who was standing opposite of him. "I'm glad you found me! I started to feel a little lonely."

"How did you get out of that control room?" Shadow asked. He eyed Amy who was still standing next to Sonic.

"Ironically a door opened shortly after I let you out of your room. It led into a dark hallway and I eventually ended up here." Shadow looked around the room and realized that it looked exactly like the one that he woke up in. Huge, bright lights formed walls around the room and giant machines wrapped with wires and metal were everywhere. The only difference was that this room was bigger.

"This whole situation is ironic." Shadow said.

"Do you suppose that these are robots?" Amy pointed out.

"They look similar to Eggman's." Sonic mentioned.

"I doubt that Eggman is smart enough to be the one behind all this." said Shadow. "And it looks like we're stuck with the same problem."

"Which is?" Sonic asked.

"Getting out." Shadow replied. All three hedgehog's seemed confused and didn't know what to do. The pain in Shadow's head didn't subside this time but he hid it very well. Amy kept standing next to Sonic but was looking at the machine behind him and Sonic just stood there.

"So, what do you guys think we should do?" Amy asked. She looked at Shadow who was staring at the neon floor. Neither the blue or black hedgehog spoke. "Hello?"

"There's nothing to do." Shadow finally said.

"Sure there is." Amt encouraged.

"Ok, if you're so sure then you tell us what to do." Shadow now lasered his look to Amy.

"Don't be so demanding, Shadow." Sonic said.

"I'm not." Shadow said. "But I'm drawing a blank. I don't know what to do."

"Well don't get mad about it." Amy said.

"Yeah, bud. We'll figure it out." Sonic reassured.

"Whatever. You two figure it out and I'll find my own way."

"Dude, stop getting defensive." Sonic exclaimed.

"Defensive!?" Shadow squawked. "You're stupid."

"You're being childish."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Yes, you are!" Amy stepped in-between the two hedgehogs.

"Alright! That's enough!" Amy squeaked. "You're both acting like little kids! Now why don't you guys grow up and work together! It's worked out so far obviously." Shadow and Sonic fell silent to Amy's words.

"Why are you defending him?" Shadow asked Amy.

"Shadow, please don't do this." Amy pleaded. "We need to work together to find everybody and get out of here." Shadow tilted his head down and dropped his arms.

"She's right." Sonic said. Shadow nodded.

"Ok, let's figure this out." said Shadow calmly. Amy walked back over to the machine.

"Let's think. Since there was two hallway's leading here then there has to be a third. This whole place seems like a maze." Out of nowhere another cackle was heard above them. Shadow knew it was the creature.

"Show yourself!" Shadow yelled upwards. Amy jumped and ran over to Shadow. Sonic walked over to him as well. The voice just laughed again.

"What is this?" Sonic asked.

"It's the creature responisble for all of this." Shadow answered. "Monster! You hide behind your laugh. If you think you have control of me you are mistaken." The stabbing pain in his head travelled to Amy, who fell to the floor screaming. "Stop it!"

"Agh!" Sonic yelled. He also crouched on the floor, grabbing his head and rolling back and forth.

"Stop hurting them!" Shadow boomed. "Fight me, damnit! Don't hurt them if your tiff is with me!" Suddenly, a row of lights from the right side of the room dimmed and Shadow saw a scene that almost scared him. Behind the sheet of dim light was a row of many tanks similar to the one he found Amy in. In the midst of Amy's cries and Sonic's grunts, he eyes his friends who lay lifeless in the tanks.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the wait guys! Enjoy, give me some helpful advice and such. And keep reading! We love our fans. =]**

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"Tails? Cream? Vanilla? Knuckles!? Wha-" Shadow was taken aback by the sight of the animals in the tanks and fell silent. Amy and Sonic were unconscious on the cold floor now and the severe headache had left Shadow completely. All he felt now was emptiness, anger and frustration. The emotions travelled through his shivering body like the wind flew through the deciduous trees nearby his home. Shadow closed his eyes and creased his eyebrows with fury.

"Hahaha, you don't seem to understand what you're dealing with, do you?" echoed the voice in the metal room.

"It's bad enough that you had to drag me into this, but them too? They don't do anything worth worrying about. I hope you realize that they are a waste of your time." Shadow pivoted to the direction of the voice and took a few steps forward while opening his gleaming eyes.

"As normal as that sounds coming from you I feel the tension as you announced your feeling." replied a dissoluted figure that appeared in front of Shadow.

"Well it's true. I've never felt the importance to talk to them."

"Your reaction shows me otherwise."

"I'm just saying. Why bring them into all of this when you obviously have a big problem with me..and ONLY me?"

"I believe you misunderstand your situation, hedgehog." The grey figure moved closer to Shadow, dragging it's feet and arms with each step, drooping it's head so Shadow was unable to see the face of the unidentified enemy. It was as if the stranger's limbs were bound to and endless chain of bricks and metal, not slowing it down, but forcing the figure to bend over. "I don't have a _problem_ with you."

Shadow, although clouded with the memories of the last few days, surged into a state of confused excitement. As the figure halted no more than a foot in front of him he managed words that couldn't fully express his bewilderment. "What do you mean?" He scoffed at his own question, knowing that it was all to useless to ask.

"I mean that I don't have a problem with you." whispered the figure. "But rather, you must have a problem with me."

Shadow's jaw dropped with disgust. "Obviously, since you decided to lock my friends in a bunch of tanks. You're after me about gosh knows what! What the hell did I do to you? I don't know who you are, let alone what you are." The figure lifted itself off of the ground and adjusted its shoulders prominantly, revealing that it had taken Shadow's own appearance. Shadow snarled through his teeth and took a stance of defense.

"What do you see in these, miserable, weak, petty..." the monster smiled menacingly and paused under a breath. "Why do you defend them? Why do you stay secluded in your lonely home in the middle of a forest when you could be with me, taking over little by little, until there's nothing left but muffled voices worshipping your very existence?" The second Shadow floated toward Amy, who lay motionless on the cold, bright ground. Touching the ground with its feet, it knelt over Amy and grinned. "She's better off as being a slave to you rather than a clingy girlfriend, don't you think?"

Shadow was furious. He fumed and spit flew as he screamed. "What!? That is enough! Leave her out of this and fight me, since that is what you are trying to raise in me."

"You are the ultimate life form, and you would rather spend your time caring for this pink thing than accepting your real fate?" The voice echoed through the room. "I'm giving you one last chance, Shadow the Hedgehog. Accept your place, or lose them."

"Well, that doesn't seem fair...being that no matter what I choose, I won't benefit!" Shadow scowled. "I'm not choosing you, I'm not choosing them." The other Shadow tilted its head to the side, as if not understanding his statement. "I'm choosing to fight you."

The being laughed cynically. "Are you trying to say that you'd die for them? Because I can guarantee you that you won't be getting out of here alive."

"Bring it." boomed Shadow. With that, he leaped at the body, and disappointedly landed on the ground with an "umph." The same vicious cackle filled the room and Shadow flew backwards. When he hit the wall behind him, he slid to the floor, grabbing his jaw.

"You bitch." yelled Shadow. "Don't pull this sissy shit, fight me face to face!" He stood and reclaimed his denfense, all the while watching the enemy run around the room. It stopped directly parallel to him, taking the same stance. Shadow leaped again, being mirrored by the alteration that faced him. Every punch, every hit was blocked. He swung left and right, grabbed the attacker by the throat with intense rage, and threw it across the room.

_That was lucky,_ he thought. A thud came from the enemy hitting one of the tanks concealing Shadow's companions and left a crack in the glass. It hit the ground with another thud.

"You're stronger than I thought." admitted the second Shadow. "But I'm still skeptical."

"We'll see about that!" yelled another voice, almost a squeak. A long, metal bar twirled in the air toward the enemy and it struck its head, knocking back onto the tank. Shadow turned to see Amy, alive, nonetheless wincing while making her way over toward him. "You're not the only one whose friends are in there!" She eyed Shadow hopefully. Shadow smiled and then rounded himself to finish his fight.

"What's going on?" the shapeshifter asked itself. "My head..." Shadow lunged at it and it quickly pushed itself away from the tank, taking the bar that was thrown with it. While passing Shadow the shapeshifter flicked the bar into the back of the hedgehog's head, forcing him to fall on the ground, completely knocked out. Amy let out a squeal and ran toward Shadow.

"You're underestimating my power." threatened the maniac. It placed itself behind Amy, grabbing her by the neck and dragged her away from Shadow.

"No!" she yelled. A laugh answered her cry.

"You will learn to obey me, hedgehog." The dark voice trailed through the room. "This fight is useless. Your boyfriend didn't even let me explain further to why I...want him to be my accomplice."

"I don't care who you are, but he would never choose you over us!" Amy stuggled for breath, the space between the enemy's hands and her neck becoming closed. Suddenly, she felt herself hitting one of the tanks, her nose pressed into the cold glass. Afraid to open her eyes she yelled once more. "What do you want from me?"

"You think that I would actually need you? When your boyfriend is being of very little use to me why would you think I found anything useful from you?"

"He's not my-"

"Boyfriend?" it mocked. "If that's the case, then why does he care for you in such a way?"

"I don't know what-"

"He is foolish. Even though he has a place in this world he would rather stay with you. I've seen his mind, and it seems the only way for him to agree with me...is to get rid of you."

"Why do you want him? How did you find him?" Amy was released from the grip and fell to the floor. She tried to stand but failed as she was once again grabbed from behind and tossed across the room, crashing into a giant computer panel adjacent to the tanks. It sparked and crackled. She slid down to the ground and knelt on her knees.

"I was created to be the strongest entity in the world. A weapon, a system of defense, something that couldn't be defeated. Unfortunately for the humans, they let technology get the best of themselves, and through my development I became...stronger...than they would have ever imagined. I gained knowledge as the wires to these computers filled my mind with information." It let out a sarcastic sigh. "A flaw in the human intelligence, I suppose, since now they are all dead."

"You...killed them? Here?" Amy forced out.

"Yes, this is my base, my home. This is where I took over and it was very enticing. Thanks to that flaw in the human intelligence I was able to enter the database and find all of the records it enclosed, including _his_ file." It pointed at Shadow. "I had hoped he would join me with no difficulty. Seeing as he just doesn't understand his reason for living is the reason why you must disappear." It stomped in Amy's direction and she crawled toward the panel.

"I don't think so!"

Shadow had risen, carrying an electric strip with him. It crackled as the currents flowed to the end of the stressed wires. Just as the shapeshifter had turned, The strip entered it's gut, electifying the figure as it seizured violently. Shadow ran to Amy, covering her with his body as the figure let out an ear piercing, high pitched scream of pain. The sound was so shrill the glass of the tanks busted as if pressured, releasing the contents inside. The animals fell limply to the floor and the liquid spread out, mixing with the many computer panels around the room. The lights flickered on and off and the screaming stopped. The figure combusted into nothing, into dust.

Shadow lifted his head, his hands covering the ears of the hedgehog under him.

"It's over."


	8. Chapter 8

Shadow slowly uncovered Amy's ears and looked at her with worried eyes. She lifted her eyelids to see that there were no remains of the enemy in front of them.

"Who was that, Shadow?" Amy questioned innocently.

"I...I'm not sure." he answered angrily. "But whatever it was is gone now." His fingertips traced Amy's jaw and he let out a short smile. Amy giggled under her breath as she looked down to the floor. "Now all we need to do is find a way out of here..."

"Ugh..."

"What-?"

"Tails, get off of me!"

"Knuckles, move your big foot!"

"Ew, what's all this wet stuff?"

Shadow quickly stood up at the sound of his friends regaining their consciousness. Shadow laughed as he saw the small pile of animals squirming to get to their feet, their fur dripping wet.

"What are you laughing at, Shadow?" Knuckles asked.

"How funny you look right now." Shadow smirked. All of the animals jumped to their feet and walked toward Amy and Shadow. All of them had confused looks on their faces as they loaded him with penetrating questions.

"Shadow, what happened here?"

"Why are we in here?"

"What are all these computers and stuff doing here?"

"How are we getting back home?"

"That screaming...where did it come-?"

"Will all of you just shut up!" barked Shadow, annoyed. He pushed his way through the group and stood with his back facing them. He folded his arms mechanically and leaned on one foot.

"Shadow," said Sonic as he slowly pushed himself up and walked over to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, they're just confused." Shadow turned to face Sonic and shrugged.

"What am I supposed to tell them?" he whispered.

"Tell them what they should know, and that's it." Sonic said. Shadow shuffled to Sonic's side and eyed the beings in front of him. Amy had forced herself to the front of everyone.

"Guys..." Shadow sighed. _Short and sweet._ he thought. "Eggman decided to find a new accomplice, who, although, a powerful ally it was, was defeated. You guys are safe now."

"What was it?" Vanilla asked.

"Yeah, and why did it choose us to kidnap?" Knuckles added.

"Well, I would assume that it took the most vulnerable of our...circle of friends." Sonic answered, looking at Shadow's relieved face.

"I am NOT vulnerable." scoffed Knuckles.

"That's besides the point." Shadow stated. "It was trying to get to me. Eggman always tries to get to me, you should know this." Shadow stomped to the group and continued. "Listen, this was all just a more advanced version of Eggman's plans. Trust me, there's nothing more to worry about. Whatever it was is gone. You're all safe. Eggman will get what is coming to him."

"Then let's find a way out of here!" squeaked Cream cheerfully as she grabbed Amy's arm.

"I don't think we'll have such an easy time, darling." said Vanilla.

"Don't worry, I think Shadow and I have a few tricks up our sleeves." Sonic winked at Shadow. Shadow nodded in agreement and walked to one of the large computer panels that wasn't totally ruined by the cold liquid that streamed over the room.

"There has to be something, some kind of command system in here." Shadow said to himself. He scanned over the various buttons and screens. He could hear everyone mumbling behind him, but there was one voice that he couldn't hear among them. He adjusted his head to see Amy staring at him with a hopeful look. Her eyes tore through his and into his mind. _She's not stupid... _Shadow thought. He returned to his job, hopelessy pressing a series of buttons. After a few minutes with no luck he slammed his fists against the panel and growled.

"Wait." said Tails. "Do you hear that?" Everyone looked up at the ceiling with their ears perked.

"We're underground. You're hearing things." Shadow grumbled.

"No, it sounds like...like wind." Knuckles justified. Everyone froze. Suddenly, the ground started shaking and all of the lights dimmed. Shadow heard the screams coming from the girls and quickly ran over to them, tripping on himself.

"Guys, there's overhead doors!" Sonic yelled as he pointed above them. Shadow glanced up and realized that they were in a sort of hangar. It was night out, for the only light slipping through the cracks were fromt the moon. The doors stopped short, giving enough room for the group to see Vector hanging from a ladder. The surroundings stopped shaking as Vector cried out, "Rescue mission, party of seven!" Everyone cheered wildly and one by one were helped up the ladder by Vector into an overhead helicopter, operated by none other than Charmy and Espio. Finally, Shadow being the last one boarding, they left in the helicopter towards home.

As they began to leave Shadow stared out of the window of the helicopter, eyeing the place they had just left. He saw nothing but the opening in the ground where they had come out. _In the middle of a desert?_ he thought. _There's something else here...something..._ His thoughts were suddenly gone when Cream screamed with delight at some gossip that Amy was telling her. Shadow brought himself back to reality and observed the happiness that filled the space. He rested his head in his hand as he faced the window once more.

Amy looked at Shadow through the corner of her eye and frowned. Emotions flushed through her and she began to reach out to him, but then stopped. _Space..._ she told herself._ He'll be ok. I'll talk to him when we get back..._

"Amy!" Cream squealed. "You didn't finish telling me!" Amy shook her head and continued her conversation with Cream.

Sonic looked at Shadow and sighed. "You know Shadow, you can't be this happy when we get saved from a death inside an underground laboratory." Sonic pursed his lips when he didn't get a reaction. Shadow wrinkled his nose. "Shadow, what's up?" He leaned over towards him so they could keep their dialogue somewhat private.

"I don't understand." Shadow said. "That thing, that..._creation_...what were the humans thinking! I thought they had got enough from me."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked.

"While you were knocked out I overheard it telling Amy that they created it to be a weapon, stronger than anything they could ever imagine. It killed them..." Shadow stopped. He turned to Sonic. "What if they were trying to develop something to overcome me!? I'm not familiar with that laboratory of the location of it but it was so similar to..." He stopped again.

"You might have to confront Eggman about it." implied Sonic. "As stupid as that fat man can be, he might know something."

"I suppose." Shadow said. "But this is why I stay away from everyone. I talked to you about this, Sonic."

"I know, I know." Sonic cupped his hands and rested his elbows on his knees. "But you can't avoid us forever. Especially...Amy." Shadow glared at him, letting go of the intensity as he came to understand that Sonic was right.

"I'm not stupid." Shadow defended himself.

"I didn't say you were." Sonic replied. "However, you haven't been really smart about...certain things." Shadow looked at Amy who was giggling along with Cream and Tails, then turned back to Sonic.

"I don't have all the answers, Sonic. I don't always know what to do." Shadow looked back through the window of the helicopter, resting his head back onto his hand.

Sonic leaned back in his seat and looked at observed the bubbly girls. Knuckles was snoring in the seat next to him and Tails was arguing with Charmy and Vector about how much better his plane was than theirs.

"Lovely bunch, aren't they?" Espio mentioned to Sonic.

Sonic grinned. "Indeed."


	9. Chapter 9

**Note to Reader: Enjoy reading this chapter. It was a little difficult for me to write but I had some great light bulb moments.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

It was a fairly quiet ride but wasn't long before the party arrived at Amy's house. Everyone had fallen asleep with the exception of the pilot, Sonic and Shadow. When they touched the ground with a _thud_ the sleeping woke and were cheering as they filed out of the helicopter. Amy jumped out quickly, followed by Cream, Vanilla, Tails, team Chaotix and Sonic. Knuckles slunked onto the crunchy grass and Shadow slid off the tall seat behind him. He eyed Amy sluggishly and noticed the frown that took place on her face.

"Oh, goodness. How am I going to get all of my plants healthy again?" Amy complained. "I worked so hard to keep them looking nice!"

"I'll help you out!" Cream managed a squeak.

"I'd be more than happy to lend a hand as well." Vanilla added.

"Well, you ladies won't be able to do this all on your own." said Vector. "You _could_ use a man's touch, Amy!"

"Vector..." whispered Charmy. "You're hopeless." Vector blushed.

"Shut up, Charmy!" Vector mumbled.

"Well, we don't have to worry about it right now." said Amy. "Why don't we all go inside and I can whip up a batch of tea? I'm sure we can all admit that we are glad to be together." Everyone nodded and made their way into Amy's home, the chatter growing louder.

Amy turned to check that all of them had gone in when she noticed Shadow standing on the edge of the street, staring at the setting moon, with his arms crossed. His eyes were closed and he was shaking his head. Amy tip-toed over to him, her hands behind her back and an expression on her face like she had just been punished.

"What is it?" demanded Shadow's low, dark voice. Amy's jaw dropped slightly but she composed herself.

"I was just wondering if you were okay." Amy replied.

"I'm fine." Shadow whispered. Amy reached for Shadow's shoulder then pulled back when he fidgeted uncomfortably. She touched her lip with her finger and put her hand on her hip.

"Everyone seems to say that lately." Amy whispered back. Shadow didn't move another inch and his body language was less than welcoming. She began to back away until Shadow pivoted her direction. His eyelids lifted open, revealing the painful stare behind them. His hands went to his sides in fists and Amy jumped.

"I'm fine." Shadow repeated.

"Okay, I was just checking." Amy said innocently. Shadow stared at her, bearing his teeth. "Well, if you would like to come in, I'm going to make some tea. You're more than welcome to...stay."

"Tea?"

"Yes..."

"Wow, Amy Rose." He began to laugh.

"What did I do now?"

"Ha! You put me through days of misery and nothing but problems...and you pay me back with a cup of tea?" Shadow continued to giggle and turned back to the street, his arms crossed again.

"Do you really believe I put you through all of this on purpose?" questioned Amy. "It's not like I knew it was coming." She bowed her head in defeat. "I don't even know what that...thing...was."

"Of course you don't." Shadow boomed.

"Why are you so hurtful?" asked Amy. "No one ever tries to hurt _you_." Shadow fidgeted again.

"However, you all end up getting me into your conflicts. I left for a reason, Amy..." He trailed off with a sigh. Both hedgehogs stood motionless, eyeing the ground.

"Amy! Are you coming?" Cream called from the kitchen window. "My mom started the tea already!"

"I'm coming!" Amy answered back.

"Just go." Shadow commanded. "I have some things to do."

"Can't you take a break from being Mr. Selfish and spend time with your friends?" Amy's tone was less innocent and more assertive. Surprised by her sound, he turned and took a step toward her. "It's not every day now that the whole gang is together. Well, minus Rouge and Omega of course. I know they're out doing things for G.U.N."

"Take a break?" Shadow scoffed. "I never have a break around you guys."

"If you say so." Amy said. "I understand." Just as she took a step toward her home, Shadow grabbed her wrist and held her back. His grip was strong and made her wince.

"You know absolutely why I can't walk into that room." Shadow mentioned fiercely.

"Why can't you just come and be with me?" Amy shivered. Tears welled in her eyes, ready to roll down her cheek. Shadow let go of Amy's wrist and ran his fingers through his quills.

"It's not that simple, Amy. You know this." He sighed.

"It can be." she whispered.

"It will never be, Amy Rose." Shadow took a step closer to her until there was barely a space between them. "No matter what _we_ decide to do, _my_ obstacles will follow us. I can barely keep you kids out of my business even when I'm nowhere near you! What do you think will happen if I remain close by?" Amy pondered a moment.

"But, Shadow, doesn't being with us, with me, fill a hole in you? I haven't been whole since you left that night. We became closer, you and me, and I know you felt it too. But being you, you left us. You left me."

"Amy, we've already discussed this..."

"Not entirely. You can't escape from me, Shadow." Amy grabbed his hand and held it tightly as she wove her fingers through his.

"I left for good reasons."

"For what, exactly? You might as well drop the 'I'm saving you guys' act because it's really not working anymore. Not on me, anyways."

"I-"

"You! You this, you that. Poor this, poor that!"

"Amy-"

"Amy what? Are you going to tell me that you're not worth it? Are you going to tell me that there's better out there for me?"

"No..."

"Then what, Shadow?" yelled Amy. "Why won't you stay with me?" She was tense and squeezed Shadow's hand. Shadow winced.

"Because." stated Shadow.

"Because what?" Amy egged.

"Amy, you can't be with me! I have a purpose here and as much as I want to keep you written in my story, you just can't be! There's too much danger, too much risk with you! I'll only end up hurting you!" Amy let her head fall and the welled up tears rolled down her fluffy cheeks in small, salty drops.

"But you can overcome anything if you really, really..." Shadow put his finger to her slightly parted lips and shushed her.

"Don't say it...do NOT say it." he mumbled.

"If you really love someone." Shadow took his free hand, grabbed her quills and forced her to meet his intruiging gaze. Amy realized, however, that the usual anger that flooded his emotions was replaced by fear. _He's...scared?_ Amy thought._ Scared to love me?_ Shadow's red hot eyes read over her expression. _No...do I? I can't..._

Shadow released his grip and Amy whimpered with soreness.

"Sorry." he apologized. She rubbed her head and let go of Shadow's hand.

"Are you scared to love me, Shadow? Or do you not want to love me?" Her hands went behind her back again and she traced a figure-8 on the ground with her foot. Shadow stood limply, his blood pulsing feverishly through his veins. Perspiration laced his forehead and his vision became cloudy.

Memories flushed through Shadow's mind. From the first time he was introduced to Sonic all the way to taking his leave that night long ago, back to the present situation that was now a decision that he had to make that would ultimately change everything.

"It's not that I don't want to, Amy...or that I'm scared to." he finally replied. "It's just that I can't."

"You can't?" Amy whimpered. "I don't understand."

"The shapeshifter was no minor enemy. I'm sure there is more to be said about what happened. There's something behind that laboratory. That location was embedded in the back of my mind and I don't remember a thing about it! I was brought back there for a reason, Amy. I have a long journey ahead of me full of many challenges. You aren't ready for that...I won't put you through that. I won't allow myself to put you in danger."

"Shadow, please...don't go. At least not right now." Amy pleaded. "You say you won't allow yourself to put me in danger, but you'll allow yourself to put me through pain?"

"You're not the only one who will be in pain." Shadow whispered. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him so that their noses were almost touching. "I have feelings too, you know." He grinned with his irony. Amy grimaced.

"But you're going against your heart, and going with your brain?" Shadow pierced through Amy's look. "Your answers will come to you in the future, Shadow. How certain can you be of the future? How do you know that you, or any of us for that matter, will last until then? How do you know that once all of that is over that I will still be here? You know exactly what I mean..."

Shadow shivered through her words. _What if SHE is my purpose? How can I be certain of what is my job here?_

"You won't always know where you're meant to be." Amy grinned slightly. "But there are so many roads to take. Are you going to choose the one that's right for you? Or are you going to choose the one that's best? What's _right_ and what's _best_ are two totally different things."

"Amy-" Shuffling of dried leaves made the hedgehogs turn towards the house where they saw Tails, Vector and Charmy eavesdropping on their conversation. Vector giggled and Charmy's wings buzzed to life.

"My bad, guys." Vector interrupted. "I was helping Tails find his shoe."

"We're caught, Vector. They aren't stupid." Charmy said.

"It's alright. I was just leaving." Shadow grumbled. Amy looked up at Shadow and the tears began to well again.

"But-" Amy began.

"This won't be our last meeting." Shadow reassured her.

"But the question is, when will the next one be?" Amy put her hand on Shadow's chest and closed her eyes. Shadow bent toward her and she felt his soft lips press against her forehead. He squeezed her hand and caressed her neck gently as she let her body fall onto his. He slowly leaned back and let go of her hand. She couldn't feel his hold on her neck anymore and once she opened her eyes she let out a silent cry.

With a flash of red light, Shadow was gone.

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**Another note: This is not the end! I wouldn't leave it open like that, geez. You crazies. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author note: Hope you enjoy reading. Leave me your opinions. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Amy remained motionless as the full moon crept slowly down behind the horizon. Her wide eyes stayed open, tears continuing to fall down her face and drip onto the grass. The emerald green color of her irises faded almost to white and she sobbed hopelessly into her hands. Behind her, she heard the rustle of leaves as the three spies drug their feet back into the small house. Amy lifted her head and stared at the now rising sun. Sweet orange light edged the tips of the few clouds in the sky and the stars disappeared in the lightening blue sky.

_I'm alone._ she thought._ As long as he stays in the mind set he's in, we can't be together...I'm so...hopeless._ Amy wiped the dried, salty water from her cheeks and smiled at the sound of her friends chatting in her home. She turned and began walking around the back of her house, twisting her fingers together.

She reached the back door and noticed an outline of black next to the trees of her yard. Timidly, she approached the thing with squinting eyes and _ah-ha'd_ in her mind. _It's just his bike._ Amy realized._ He'll probably come get it when I'm sleeping. Less chance of seeing me, I suppose. But hey! My friends are inside. We are safe. I guess that's all I can ask for._ She turned around and shrugged the bike out of her mind. _Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog, until we meet again..._

"Amy, Amy!" Cream wailed with excitement. "The tea's getting old! Come inside! We're going to start a game of charades!" Cream waved her arm at Amy to hurry up and Amy obeyed. She jogged over to her friend and walked into her home.

"Are you okay, Amy?" Sonic asked as she sat on her big couch next to Vanilla.

"I'm fine." answered Amy. "Just exhausted and ready to play a game with you all!"

"Where's Shadow?" questioned Knuckles. "Betting he went home."

"Yeah." Amy quickly replied. "He said he had to go take care of some things."

"Figured as much." Knuckles added. "He doesn't like being around-"

"Well, let's get this game started?" Sonic interrupted. Amy looked at him with thankful eyes and Sonic nodded at her slightly and winked.

"Hmph." Knuckles grumbled. "Well, I suppose I'll go first." He got up off the carpet and walked in front of the group. He held up three fingers.

"Three words." Vanilla interpreted.

"Red-haired Jamaican!?" Vector bellowed. The Charmy buzzed with laughter, followed by Tails and Sonic. There was a small giggle from Vanilla and Cream and Espio just rolled his eyes. Amy put her hand over her mouth, hiding her smile. Knuckles growled at Vector, but then blushed.

"Okay, that was a little funny." Knuckles admitted. "But you don't see me calling you a talking pickle, do you Vector?"

The entire group busted into roars of laughter, some rolling on the ground. Knuckles even had his hand on his stomach as he bent over giggling.

"Aren't you glad everything's back to normal, Amy?" Cream managed to say. Amy smiled at her.

_Yeah. _she thought._ Normal..._

Day came without warning, and before noon all of the animals were asleep in Amy's living room. All of them, that is, with the exception of Amy. She was lying next to Tails on top of one of the many sleeping bags lining the ground, staring at the ceiling. Her hands laid on her stomach and she crossed her feet. Her thoughts roamed around her mind and it made her restless. Vector let out a huge snore that made her jerk, and she rose silently and made her way swiftly to her bathroom. She closed the door and grabbed a washcloth from the towel rack and wet it with luke warm water. She rubbed the cloth over her face and cleaned out the sleepies from her eyes. She then folded the rag neatly and set it on the counter next to the sink.

She watched the reflecton of herself intently in the mirror and gripped the egde of the counter. She noticed the small bags under her eyes and frowned. There was a knock on the door.

"Ames?" Sonic's voice penetrated through the door. "Are you okay?" Startled, Amy replied, "Just peachy. Thanks, Sonic." A moment of silence followed, then Sonic's voice was released again.

"Would you like to talk, Amy?" he asked. Amy didn't reply. From the other side of the door, Sonic leaned his head on the frame and breathed heavily.

"Amy, please talk to me." he managed.

"Sonic, really, I'm okay." Amy finally said. "I'm just sleepy."

"Well, I'm here if you need me, Ames..." he trailed off. Amy heard his footsteps being falling.

"Wait, Sonic." Amy cried quietly. She leaned against the door and slid to the tile, Sonic following her moves as he placed himself on the other side. "I don't understand, Sonic..."

"This is about Shadow, isn't it?" Sonic asked.

"Yes." Amy whispered.

"Well, I don't know the whole story. Not like I want to..." Sonic began. "But we all know how he is. He is just one of those who is better off alone. Unfortunately for you, you aren't one of _those._"

"But I know he feels just the same as me." Amy said. "He would just rather choose something else."

"It's not that you aren't important to him." mentioned Sonic. "He's just...Shadow. He knows about himself just as much as we do. He doesn't know why he's here, or what he's supposed to do. But Amy, if you guys can't...be together...then you can't sit here and be upset for the rest of your life."

"It's not that easy." Amy snapped. She circled her arms around her knees and tilted her head forward.

"I'm sure it's not." Sonic entreated.

"Sonic, it goes all the way back to the night he left. And he got a second chance, yet he still chose the same thing." An awkward silence left Sonic a little stunned.

"Amy, all I can say is..." Sonic paused. "If you guys are...meant to be...you _will_ be. If you aren't, then you aren't. But until that's decided for you, be happy. Your a great friend to me, Ames, and I don't want to see you unhappy."

"That means a lot to me, Sonic." Amy mumbled. "You have no idea."

Sonic smirked and stood up. "We'll be out here." He left her alone, and she sat in almost a trance.

_He's right._ Amy pondered._ I can't just be unhappy all the time. It will be difficult, I'm sure, but I guess everything will be okay._

Later that day, Amy watched her friends leave one by one, and with Cream and Vanilla being the last to leave, night fell once again. The moon rose with beautiful white light streaming across the valley, and almost seemed like a spotlight on Amy's house.

"Oh, my." Amy whined. "My house is so dirty. Well, I guess I could clean tomorrow. I am kind of tired..." She made her way around the house to close all of the windows and lock the doors. Once she was done, she approached her room and hopped onto her fluffy bed. She let her eyes close and soon she fell into a deep sleep.

_**

* * *

**_A few weeks passed and Amy kept herself quite busy. Although Cream and Vanilla had offered to lend a hand with her dying greenery, Amy managed to do everything herself, refusing any help that anyone offered. Soon, the house was outlined with small red and green rosebushes and the grass in the surrounding area was now its usual vibrant color. Gardening became the major project in her daily time, taking time every afternoon to water the plants and churning the soil often. Every morning Amy would wake at sunrise and take a walk around her neighborhood. Occaisionally she visited Cream, but it wasn't long until she had to go home and continue her day to day regiment.

As the days passed slowly Amy noticed that the black and silver motorcycle never moved from the place Shadow had left it. The sight of it only brought hurt with it so she tried to stay away from it. _Besides,_ she thought._ If I mess one thing up on it he'll kill me. That is, if he ever comes back for it._

One cloudy morning, Amy had woken up fairly later than usual, and she didn't move an inch from her position. She sighed comfortably into her soft pillow and curled tighter in the warm blanket. A stroke of lightning lit her tiny room and soon she could hear the tapping of rain on her roof. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she smiled. As quickly as she could, she sprinted to her phone hanging on the wall of her kitchen and dialed a series of numbers. The other end rang.

_Oh, please, answer!_

Another two rings replied to her thoughts. Then, in the middle of the fourth ring, Vector's voice was on the other side.

"Hello? Vector speaking!" he greeted happily.

"Vector? What are you doing there?" Amy asked.

"Well, Vanilla went out and I just happened to be in the neighborhood so I offered to keep an eye on Cream for her!" Amy heard his smile through his words.

"Ah, I see." Amy replied. "Well, could I please talk to Cream?"

"Of course, Missy!" said Vector. "Cream! Amy's on the phone for you!" The phone was shuffled from hand to hand and soon the high pitched voice spoke.

"Hi, Amy!" Cream said excitedly. "What are you up to?"

"Hey, Cream." Amy said. "I was wondering if you could ask your mom to do me a favor?"

"Anything!" squeaked Cream.

"Uhm, well I was wondering if you and your mom would take me to Juliani."

"Oh. What for?"

"I was wanting to visit the library there. Maybe check out a book or two."

"We would be more than happy to." Cream agreed. "I can go with you too!"

"Oh, well actually, I was going to stay for a while then Tails said he'd meet up with me so I could help him with one of his new projects."

"Oh, okay. Well, what time would you like to go?"

"As soon as you'd be able to pick me up."

"Well, when my mother gets home I will tell her then we will come get you! I'm sure she wants to do some shopping while we're there." Amy heard Vector yell in the backround and Cream giggled.

"Thank you so much, Cream. I owe you."

"Don't worry about it. You're, like, my best friend! We'd do anything for you."

The two friends said their goodbyes and once Amy hung up the phone she ran back to her room to make her bed. After that was done, she jumped into the shower, brushed her teeth and put on some fresh clothes. She did a last minute quill check and walked into her living room, waiting impatiently for her ride to arrive. About ten minutes later, a honk answered her beckoning mind and she hopped outside over to Cream and Vanilla. She was then on her way to Juliani. The ride was mostly quiet other than the constant chatter of Vector who took over the front seat.

"He insisted on coming." Cream chuckled. "But that's Vector for you." Amy smiled.

They arrived at Juliani around 11 A.M. and Amy got out of the car at her stopped. She thanked her friends many times, then made her way into the library. She peered outside the window and waited for the vehicle to disappear anxiously. Once it was out of site, she left the library and headed for the park where Shadow had dropped her off when they met in the woods before her kidnapping.

The park was empty, partly because of the rainy weather outside, but Amy pressed on. She approached the west entrance to the park and saw the road across from her. She grinned, relieved, and continued up the asphalt.

_It must lead me to him. This is where we came from. I'll find him some way._

Amy walked on the winding road for about an hour, taking breaks every so often under the shelter of the trees. As she leaned against one of the bushy trees, she realized that she must be getting close. On the ground in front of her was a ripped piece of fabric, a pink strip of the dress she wore that day she was chasing Sonic. She gasped and almost cried. _I can't be that far!_

Determined, she lifted herself up and stumbled into the middle of the road. She followed the yellow dashes that separated the sides like she was on a tightrope, all the while observing the woods surrounding her.

"Come on, give me something." Amy mumbled to herself. Above her, the clouds began to part, revealing a light blue sky behind them. She jumped when she heard the tree next to her jumble its leaves but relaxed when a bird exited the spot. A small, brown sparrow flew in a circle above her head then landed in front of her. Amy crouched and spoke to it. "What are you doing out in the rain, little fellow?"

The bird chirped at her and hopped two inches closer to her.

"Go back home, little bird." Amy encouraged. The bird tilted its head and hopped away, stopping at the edge of the road and faced Amy. It chirped again.

Amy started walking forward again but halted in response to the sparrow flying in front of her. It hopped in a circle and stared at her.

"What do you want, birdie?" Amy asked the animal. The little bird flew to a leafy bush that lined the side of the road and sung. _Follow you? How silly..._ she thought. "Would you like me to follow you?"

As if understanding her, the bird nodded. Amy shook her head. "No, you're a bird." The bird answered her remark with a violent chortle. Amy twitched.

"Well, if you say so." Reluctantly, she began to follow the bird into the woods. The rain had slowed by then and Amy was led for another half hour. The sun began to show between the trees which made it easier for her to follow the bird. It sang as it flew, low of course for her to see him, and after a little while, he stopped.

Amy was breathless at this point and she knelt on her knees to rest. She closed her eyes as she composed herself and then stood back up. The sparrow flew up and landed on her head. It sang a pretty yet ironically annoying melody and then went its own way. Confused, Amy looked around but continued walking forward.

"Great." she whispered. "I'm lost because I followed a bird." She let her feet fall noisily on the cold ground. She suddenly grabbed her head dizzily. "Darn it, I didn't eat anything before I left! I'll be paying for it now." She stumbled and found a rock to sit on next to a tree. She leaned her head against the trunk and slunked to the ground, exhausted.

A growl filled the air in the distance, and she saw a shape coming towards her but was too tired to resist.


End file.
